ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are “on track” and the government will share “good news” on the matter today.
The finance minister made the comments while talking to the media after a road safety conference in Islamabad, amid hopes that the two sides would soon reach an agreement after “tough” talks.
The IMF mission has been in Islamabad since January 31 to iron out differences over fiscal policy that have stalled the release of more than $1 billion of the $6.5 billion bailout package signed in 2019. .
Funding from the IMF is critical to Pakistan’s $350 billion economy, which is facing a balance of payments crisis with foreign exchange reserves dwindling to less than three weeks’ worth of import cover.
Talking to the media today, Dar said that he is going to meet the IMF mission, which is currently in the final round of talks with the fund.
“The talks are on track and we will share good news today. There are no differences with the IMF team,” he maintained.
On Wednesday, IMF mission chief Nathan Porter had a one-on-one meeting with Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister’s House.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance in Syria, the discussion with the IMF focused on the financing table and other important issues.
“There is broad consensus on the corrective actions and measures. The head of the mission also met the finance minister and briefed him on the discussions,” the statement said. The statement said that the IMF mission is working on integrating all of them and will finalize it. Draft Memorandum of Monetary and Economic Policies (MEFP).
The government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in a catch-22 situation due to the stringent conditions imposed by the lender and the political cost of these measures in an election year.
Addressing the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad last Sunday, the Prime Minister said that “the country is facing a lot of fiscal challenges”, the IMF is “combing every book” and ongoing negotiations. Reviewing “everything” and “every subsidy”.
In keeping with the last assessments, the two parties took a long time to sign the staff-level agreement even after receiving the MEFP document and nine tables. But, according to Pakistani officials, now the IMF mission has changed its modus operandi – they will first finalize the agreement and then share the MEFP.
According to JEE News, if a consensus is not reached today, the IMF mission may extend its stay or announce the continuation of negotiations through online meetings from Washington, DC.
