Talks with IMF moving forward positively: Reza

LONDON: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir has said that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are moving forward positively.
Dr Baqir said this while speaking to overseas Pakistanis at an event in London.
Baqir’s statement came shortly after IMF Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour said that talks between Pakistan and the IMF on the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) are progressing in a “very good” manner.
Unveiling the ‘Regional Economic Outlook: The Middle East and Central Asia – October 2021’, Azour had said: “The discussion around the sixth review is currently progressing around various pillars.”
The IMF mission and Pakistani authorities are discussing the measures that the government of Pakistan is currently contemplating. “The progress has gone in a very good step and the mission with the authorities is going through various details [sic],” he had added.
Baqir, meanwhile, told the overseas Pakistanis that he is bringing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s message to them. He said inflation is currently a reality all over the world and isn’t just happening in Pakistan. He gave the example of the United States, saying that the country had not experienced the kind of inflation it is currently experiencing in the last 30 years.
The SBP governor said that so far 260,000 Roshan Digital accounts had been opened, through which Pakistan has received Rs2.6 billion. Justifying the high rates of inflation, he said it is because of the rise in oil prices. “The exchange rate has been left to market forces since June 2019,” he said, adding that the pressure on payments is due to the fact that our economy is improving. – TLT