International Monetary Fund (IMF) ready to ‘engage’ with Pakistan on fresh bailout

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that they are ready to “engage” with Pakistan on a fresh bailout in the “coming months” to help the country resolve “fiscal and external stability challenges,” reported Geo News. The global lender stated that they are ready to engage in programme discussions in the future. The IMF’s Communications Director, Julie Kozack, said, “The authorities have expressed interest in a successor IMF-supported programme with the aim of resolving Pakistan’s fiscal and external stability challenges and laying the foundation for inclusive growth. And, of course, we stand ready to engage in programme discussions in the coming months.” Responding to a question about the Standby Arrangement (SBA) and whether Pakistan was out of the woods economically, Kozack further spoke about the fresh bailout programme, reported Geo News. The IMF communications director shared that the Executive Board meeting of the lender will take place at the end of this month to approve the disbursement of the remaining USD 1.1 billion of the SBA following the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF. “The staff-level agreement recognises the strong programme implementation by the State Bank of Pakistan and the caretaker government in recent months, as well as the new government’s intentions for ongoing policy and reform efforts to move Pakistan from stabilisation to a strong and sustainable recovery,” Kozack said. The IMF official noted that there has been an improvement in Pakistan’s “economic and financial” situation since the completion of the first review of the SBA, reported Geo News. “Growth and confidence are continuing to recover,” Kozack said. She added that the IMF will release growth forecasts in the coming months as part of the World Economic Outlook. (ANI)

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