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Pakistan and the IMF claim bailout negotiations have advanced

Both parties reported significant progress in the talks on the revival of Pakistan’s IMF bailout programme on Wednesday, and Islamabad anticipates the lender will extend the 39-month, $6 billion credit.

 

The comments were made as Pakistan’s economy teeters on the verge of a financial disaster, its foreign exchange reserves are depleting quickly, and the Pakistani rupee is trading at record lows versus the dollar due to the unpredictability of the IMF programme.

 

‘Important progress has been made over the FY23 budget,’ Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF’s resident representative in Islamabad, told Reuters. ‘Discussions between the IMF staff and the authorities on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year continue.’

 

Pakistan unveiled a budget for 2022–2023 worth 9.5 trillion rupees ($47 billion) this month in an effort to persuade the IMF to resume much-needed bailout payments. The budget is aimed at strict fiscal consolidation.

 

The lender then clarified that additional steps were required to align Pakistan’s budget with the main goals of the IMF programme. View More

 

According to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, the two parties held negotiations on Tuesday night and came to an agreement on the budget and fiscal policies but not on a set of monetary goals.

 

He anticipated a first memorandum on macroeconomic and financial aims, followed by an official agreement, and did not anticipate any ‘hiccups’ in the remaining negotiations.

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