ISLAMABAD: The visiting IMF Post Programme Monitoring Mission has held various rounds of technical discussions with the Pakistan side at the Ministry of Finance over the last week. The Pakistan side is led by Secretary Finance, Shahid Mahmood while Harald Finger is leading the IMF team, in discussions covering a host of areas including macroeconomic situation, developments in energy, fiscal, financial, monetary and social sectors.
In the opening session, Secretary Finance shared with the IMF delegation an overview of the economy, stating that it was on track and key economic indicators were moving in the positive direction. He mentioned that significant growth has been achieved in revenue generation in the current fiscal year. He said that Pakistan has achieved fiscal consolidation without compromising on expenditures on development and social protection. He added the government has set its eyes on achieving 6 per cent GDP growth which is inclusive, pro-poor and sustainable. Secretary Finance also briefly touched upon recent successful launch of Sukuk and Euro Bond with the IMF delegation.
IMF delegation appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in maintaining macroeconomic stability and noted the impressive economic growth in Pakistan despite multiple challenges.
On Friday the mission met Governor State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa. Over the week, the mission also held meetings with the Ministries of Commerce, Railways, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, OGRA and SECP. It also met senior officials in other ministries including Energy, Planning Development and Reforms, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, BISP and NEPRA and held technical discussions on key areas.
The Post Program Monitoring is an annual feature of the Fund whereby overall, economic conditions of a member country, which is no more in a program relationship and owes funds to the IMF, are monitored and a report is presented to the Executive Board of the Fund. It may be recalled that the last IMF mission level visit to Pakistan took place in late 2013. The current visit is taking place after a gap of over 3 years, reflecting improved security conditions as well as the economic performance of the country and growing trust of the international community.
