Pakistan, IMF to hold fourth round of talks on EFF, RSF loans review

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF will hold fourth round of talks for the third review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the $1.1 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will attend the virtual talks from Washington and Istanbul, sources said.

Pakistan and the IMF decided to hold virtual talks owing to the security situation, the finance ministry sources earlier said.

The IMF mission, led by Iva Petrova, was returned back after their first meeting in Islamabad on last Monday.

The gas sector’s performance will be reviewed in this round of talks. “The sides will discuss the gas sector circular debt of Pakistan from July to December”, sources said.

The sides will consider over various proposals to bring the gas sector’s circular debt down. “The teams will also discuss recovery of the petroleum development levy on petroleum products from July to December”.

Pakistan officials will discuss the Sovereign Wealth Fund and SOEs Act with the IMF team, sources said.

Privatization plan for the current year and PIA’s status will also come under discussion.

The officials will also share the plan to fill the fiscal gap for current year with the IMF delegation.

Sources said that the talks of other ministries with the lending institution is also scheduled today.

Earlier, the IMF team began inaugural meeting with the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb as part of the review process.

During the discussions, the IMF assesses Pakistan’s fiscal performance for the first half of the current financial year.

The agenda also includes a review of the budget outlook for the ongoing fiscal year and an assessment of the economic impact of recent floods.

The government is expected to share its expenditure prioritisation plan with the IMF.