IMF board to meet on September 25 to discuss approval of $7bn bailout agreement reached with Pakistan
\n Islamabad
\nThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally added Pakistan\u2019s new 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to the agenda for its Executive Board meetings scheduled for September 25, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif heaping praise on friendly nations for extending all-out support to help Islamabad secure the bailout package.
\nIn a statement issued today, the global lender said its executive board would meet on September 25 to discuss the approval of $7 billion EFF agreement reached with Pakistan. \u201cIslamabad is implementing the terms of the 37-month agreement,\u201d it added.
\nIslamabad and the global lender reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July. The IMF has said the programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining \u201ctimely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan\u2019s development and bilateral partners\u201d.
\nIslamabad has to secure external financing of $2 billion from bilateral and commercial lenders within the ongoing week.
\nAccording to insiders, Pakistan already owes $5 billion to Saudi Arabia in the form of cash deposits. It must be noted that Pakistan also holds $4 billion in deposits from China and $3 billion from the UAE.
\nThese amounts are separate from an additional $4.5 billion in commercial loans, including those from China, sources quoted the ministry officials as saying.
\nTop official sources confirmed to The News that Pakistan would have to dispatch its signed Letter of Intent (LoI) to the IMF\u2019s Executive Board with a request to consider approval of $7 billion under 37 months EFF with the written commitment that the Government of Pakistan would comply with all agreed condition of the Fund programme.
\nAhead of the IMF\u2019s statement, the prime minister termed the progress with IMF on the bailout \u201cgood\u201d and praised the friendly countries support in this regard.
\n\u201cWe have to get rid of debts [\u2026] Pakistan must stand on its own feet,\u201d the prime minister stressed while addressing the federal cabinet meeting, hoping that the forthcoming IMF package would be the country\u2019s last.
\nPM Shehbaz said that the friendly nations have once again extended their support as he refused to divulge into details. \u201cThey have repeated the history and supported Pakistan.\u201d
\nHowever, he regretted that Pakistan was a nuclear country and \u201crepeated requests for loans will decrease its importance\u201d.
\nThe premier said that the government was making efforts to secure the IMF bailout package, assuring \u201cgood progress\u201d in talks with the global lender.
\nHe also lauded the announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan to slash the policy rate by 2%, calling it a step to boost investors\u2019 confidence. He hoped that the policy rate will be slashed to single-digit, just like inflation rate.
\nThe country has relied heavily on IMF programmes for years, at times nearing the brink of sovereign default and having to turn to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to provide it with financing to meet external financing targets set by the IMF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IMF board to meet on September 25 to discuss approval of $7bn bailout agreement reached with Pakistan Islamabad The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally added Pakistan\u2019s new 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to the agenda for its Executive Board meetings scheduled for September 25, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif heaping praise on friendly nations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-430822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n