ISLAMABAD: The government and visiting officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday started policy level talks for disbursement of the second tranche of about $453 million early next month under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) finalised in May this year.
Secretary Finance Naveed Kamran Baloch and Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Reza Baqir began the policy discussions with the fund led by its Mission Chief to Pakistan Ernesto Ramirez-Rigo. Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is expected to join the negotiations on Wednesday (November 6) for the concluding round, reported Dawn.
Sources quoted in the report said the authorities were confident about the successful completion of the first quarterly review of the fund programme, leading to disbursement of the second tranche in December. They said the current account had responded to the steps introduced by the finance ministry and the central bank more than the expectations while fiscal account targets for the first quarter had also been met.
According to media reports, about Rs50 billion budgetary savings had been achieved in the first quarter of the fiscal year through a tight check on additional supplementary grants while about Rs9 billion savings were reported due to control over current expenditures.
There were some concerns over the pace of expansion in the revenue shortfall and the authorities hinted at taking additional and corrective measures to achieve end-December targets. Discussions also took place over adjustments on the revenue side.
The IMF in July this year had disbursed about $991 million on completion of all prior actions committed by Pakistan before signing the fund programme. The two sides have been in technical level discussions since October 28 for exchange of latest data relating to all the economic ministries and their entities.
