An official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that the final tranche of the $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan will be finalised by the lender’s Executive Board in its meeting later this month.
In a virtual media briefing, IMF’s Communication Director Julie Kozack said that the IMF and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the second and final review under the SBA on March 19. This is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board and upon approval by the board, Pakistan will have access to around $1.1 billion, which would bring the total disbursements under the SBA to about $3 billion, she added.
On the question of another IMF program for Pakistan, Ms. Kozack expressed the lender’s readiness, saying that Pakistani authorities have expressed interest in a successor IMF-supported program with the aim of resolving fiscal and external stability challenges and laying the foundation for inclusive growth.
“Of course, we stand ready to engage in program discussions in the coming months.”
“The staff-level agreement recognizes the strong program implementation by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the caretaker government in recent months, as well as the new government’s intentions for ongoing policy and reform efforts to move Pakistan from stabilization to a strong and sustainable recovery,” Ms. Kozack said.
She further stated that Pakistan’s economic and financial situation has improved in the months since the first review was completed. Growth and confidence continue to recover, and “we will be releasing in the next weeks as part of our World Economic Outlook, our latest growth forecasts for Pakistan.”
Earlier, on Thursday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the plans of his government to enter a new program with the IMF, which he said was very important to consolidate the country’s economy.
“With the new IMF program, the international institutions will have more trust in us, and we will be able to move forward on the agenda of development and prosperity with more confidence,” the prime minister said while chairing a cabinet meeting.
He stated the finance minister was going to Washington this month with a delegation to participate in the IMF spring meetings, where he will also discuss details of the new program with the IMF.
It is important to recall that, in July 2023, Pakistan secured a nine-month, $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement from the IMF to avoid sovereign default and support the economic stabilization program.
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