Pakistani delegation to 'attend' IMF and WB spring meetings in US

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings are scheduled to take place from 13 to 18 April in Washington, D.C., with Pakistan set to participate, ARY News reported on Thursday, citing sources.

A Pakistani delegation, led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, will attend the meetings, sources confirmed. The Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and the Federal Secretary of Finance are also expected to be part of the delegation, the sources privy to the development said.

During the course of the Spring Meetings, the Pakistani team will hold meetings on the sidelines with various international delegations. The delegation is also scheduled to engage with investors in the United States, aiming to highlight Pakistan’s economic priorities and investment opportunities, sources added.

These engagements are seen as an important opportunity for Pakistan to strengthen international financial relations and explore avenues for economic collaboration.

Earlier, it emerged that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has demanded of Pakistan to slash the power subsidy in the next financial year to Rs 830 billion, sources said.

As Pakistan and the IMF preparing to set key targets of the next fiscal year’s budget, the lender has demanded Rs 206 billion rupees cut in the electricity subsidy in the budget, according to sources. “The energy sector’s subsidy should not be more than 830 billion in the next budget,” the IMF has demanded of Pakistan.

“The current year’s subsidy to the power sector has been 1036 billion rupees,” sources shared.

Sources said that the IMF has also demanded to end the circulatory debt of the power sector by the financial year 2031.