Pakistan and IMF to hold virtual talks, Mission returns back

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the IMF have decided to hold virtual talks owing to the security situation, the finance ministry sources here said.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Iva Petrova, returned back after their first meeting in Islamabad, sources at the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.

The two sides will hold virtual dialogue 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).

Sources at the ministry said that owing to the current security situation, all meetings will be virtual for the economic review dialogue.

The virtual meetings will be held according to the schedule, finance ministry sources said.

Earlier today, 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 will assess 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.

Officials will also explain the reasons behind the shortfall in tax collection targets and brief the delegation on the performance of sales tax and income tax collection.

The IMF team will be given a detailed briefing on Pakistan’s external debt and financing situation, including upcoming repayments and funding arrangements.

Earlier, the IMF mission visited Karachi to hold talks with the officials of the central bank.

State Bank of Pakistan officials briefed the delegation that implementation of the external financing plan agreed with the International Monetary Fund is underway. They added that in the event of only a temporary rollover, the government remains engaged in further negotiations.