LAHORE - Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday expressed the optimism that International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board would approve the 37-month $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement for Pakistan in its meeting scheduled on Wednesday (today). He was speaking at “High Level Private Sector Dialogue - CPEC-II and the Region” virtually through Zoom. The event was organized by Pakistan Regional Economic Forum.
“Pakistan successfully concluded 9 month Standby Agreement (SBA) with IMF and we have the IMF board meeting tomorrow here in US. We are very hopeful the board would approve the 37-month 7 billion Dollars programme,” he said. The minister said, under the programme Pakistan was committed to do structural reforms. He said Pakistan needed to stay on reforms agenda whether on taxation, energy sector, state-owned enterprises or privatization side. “We will stay on the course,” he resolved. He expressed gratitude to China for its support on the fund programme as the lone standing partner of the country.
The minister highlighted that Pakistan’s economic trajectory has continued from the last fiscal year into the first quarter of this fiscal year, with notable improvements in various economic indicators. He said the currency was stable while foreign exchange reserves were also stable with two months import cover. He said the inflation has decelerated and more importantly, policy rate has come down and Kibor rates also declined to the benefit of industry.