ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund is likely to approve the release of $450 million to Pakistan on December 19 as part of its $6 billion bailout program for the country.
The IMF executive board will meet on December 19 to review the staff-level agreement with Pakistan to release the second tranche of its $6 billion program, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said Thursday.
“What that indicates is that all prior actions and performance criteria under the program with Pakistan have been met,” Rice told a news briefing. “And that the financing assurances needed for the program to go forward are in place.”
An IMF mission was in Pakistan last month to discuss the first review under the financing program.
At the end of its visit, IMF mission head Ernesto Ramirez Rigo had said that Pakistan and IMF had reached a staff-level agreement on policies and reforms needed to complete the first review.
In July, the IMF had approved a $6 billion bailout package for Pakistan. The country had received the first IMF payment of $991.4 million on July 10. – NNI