Pakistan, IMF reach agreement for $1.21bn financing

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement on reviews of some of the country’s lending programmes, potentially unlocking about $1.21 billion in financing pending board approval.
The agreement, which would give Pakistan access to about $1.2 billion, still requires approval from the IMF Executive Board.
The agreement covers the fourth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The funds will be released after approval by the IMF Executive Board in Washington.
Under the agreement, Pakistan is set to receive approximately $1 billion under the EFF and around $210 million under the RSF, taking the total funds received under the two arrangements to approximately $5.7 billion after the new tranche.
The IMF Executive Board will now consider the staff-level agreement for final approval. The latest agreement follows negotiations held in Karachi and Islamabad from September 23 to October 7, led by IMF Mission Chief Iva Petrova.
The IMF said Pakistan maintained economic stability despite the impact of the Middle East conflict, while noting that the country still faces significant economic challenges.
Pakistan’s real GDP growth stood at 4% during the first three quarters, but the IMF expects growth to remain limited to 3.6% in the current fiscal year. The government has set a GDP growth target of 4%.
Inflation remained in double digits, reaching 10.3% in September, according to the IMF. The lender said Pakistan remained committed to bringing key economic indicators back within the State Bank’s prescribed limits. -NNI