ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s prime minister said on Tuesday after a telephone conversation with the head of the International Monetary Fund that he hoped the IMF would make a decision on a bailout within a day or two.
After making policy and fiscal austerity decisions at the behest of the IMF, Islamabad has been waiting for a deal under which lenders have agreed to a $6.5 billion extension on Ninth Review of Fund Arrangements, disbursement of US$ 1.1 billion*).
Prime Minister Sheikh Baz Sharif’s office said in a statement that “the Prime Minister hopes to reach a consensus on the main points of the IMF program will be decided within a day or two”.
It added that Sharif spoke to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about the country’s bailout fund, which has been at a standstill since November. stagnation. The two also met in Paris in June .
Bailout expires in June 2019, Pakistan has also revised its fiscal year 24 budget and raise the policy rate to % in a bid to secure a deal that is key to other external financing for the cash-strapped country.
The IMF fund, subject to approval by its board, has pledged to provide respite for Pakistan, which is battling the worst economic collapse and faces a severe balance of payments crisis and foreign exchange reserves decline.
