Pakistan not on IMF agenda till Sept 18

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its executive board meeting schedule through September 18, 2024, and Pakistan, which direly needs external funding to bail out its economy, is not included on the agenda.

According to the Fund’s website, the IMF schedule of the executive board meeting set to be held on September 9, 13 and 18 but to take Pakistan’s 37-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) of about $7 billion on the agenda is not included.

Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July.

The new programme, which needs to be validated by the Fund’s Executive Board, should enable Pakistan to “cement macroeconomic stability and create conditions for stronger, more inclusive and resilient growth,” according to a statement.

“The programme aims to capitalise on the hard-won macroeconomic stability achieved over the past year by furthering efforts to strengthen public finances, reduce inflation, rebuild external buffers and remove economic distortions to spur private sector-led growth,” the IMF statement said, quoting Nathan Porter, the Fund’s mission chief to Pakistan.

It should be noted here that the government is reportedly working to secure a rollover of $12 billion in loans from key allies, including China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).