IMF board to sit on Jan 12 to okay $1.059bn for Pakistan
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Pakistani authorities and IMF staff had reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete 6th review under the EFF, IMF press release had said on November 21.
KARACHI: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold final meeting for the approval of $1,059 million for Pakistan on January 12, 2022, said Muzzamil Aslam, spokesman of the Finance Ministry here on Thursday morning.
He said in his tweet, “I am pleased to confirm 6th review will be presented to IMF Board on 12th January, 2022.”
The Pakistani authorities and International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff had reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete the 6th review under the EFF, IMF press release had said on November 21.
Completion of the review would make available SDR 750 million (about $1,059 million), bringing total disbursements under the EFF to about $3,027 million and helping unlock significant funding from bilateral and multilateral partners.
In the press release, the fund said that the agreement is subject to approval by the Executive Board, following the implementation of prior actions, notably on fiscal and institutional reforms.
An additional SDR 1,015.5 million (about $1,386 million) was disbursed in April 2020 to help Pakistan address the economic impact of the COVID-19 shock.
The adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin in a meeting had accepted all the conditions of the Fund. The authorities have also made progress in improving the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework, although some additional time is needed to strengthen its effectiveness.
After this meeting, an ordinance of the State Bank of Pakistan had also been approved through the parliament, while the government is also preparing to withdraw all tax incentives given to the different sectors including telecom, automotive and other industries in Pakistan. The law would be approved through the parliament or the President’s ordinance.
According to the condition of the IMF, the State Bank has kept the dollar as high as 178 in the interbank market while the greenback is trading at around 180 in the kerb market, which is almost up Rs 27- 28 in last seven months.
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