ISLAMABAD: With all eyes on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its final approval, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that the agreement with the lender will be formally signed next week, Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday. Reported to
The two sides have been in intensive talks since late January to reach an agreement on a number of conditions, including external financing from friendly countries, before signing the deal.
Addressing a public gathering in Faisalabad, Sanaullah said that the government has fulfilled all its requirements and relief can be delivered to the people after the agreement.
A day earlier, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told JEE News that Pakistan had “fulfilled all conditions” of the IMF and expressed hope that the fund would soon sign a staff-level agreement, which would provide 1.1 billion The issue of dollar installment will be paved.
Dar said that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have informed the IMF of their commitments to provide $3 billion to Pakistan.
Riyadh will provide $2 billion while Abu Dhabi has pledged $1 billion to Pakistan, Dar said, adding that the Washington-based lender has also been informed.
The finance minister said that all the terms of the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF have been fulfilled.
“Pakistan is hopeful that the IMF will soon sign the SLA and get it approved by its executive board,” Dar added.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to barely covering a month’s worth of imports after IMF funding stalled in November, while officials from the lender visited Islamabad for talks in February. Due to constraints in policy adjustment.
He formed part of the ninth review exercise on the $6.5 billion bailout package in 2019, which is critical for Pakistan’s recovery to avoid the risk of defaulting on external payment obligations.
Pakistan had to complete measures demanded by the IMF, such as reversing subsidies in its power, export and agriculture sectors, increasing energy and fuel prices, and permanent electricity surcharges, among other measures. except.
These measures include raising its key policy rate to a record high of 21 percent, a market-based exchange rate, external financing arrangements, and more than 170 billion rupees ($613 million) in new taxes.
The fiscal adjustment has already fueled Pakistan’s highest-ever inflation, which rose in March to more than 35 percent over the year.
The IMF will release another $1.4 billion tranche to Pakistan before the program ends in June.
Funding from the lender will also open up other bilateral and multilateral financing for the cash-strapped country.
Neighboring China has invested more than $2 billion in recent weeks and refinanced another $1.3 billion.
