On Thursday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was “committed to reviving the IMF program and putting Pakistan on the path to sustainable development.”
Ismail had returned from Doha, Qatar, where talks between Islamabad and the fund were under way from May 18 to 25. Finance Minister Ismail and IMF Mission Chief in Pakistan Nathan Porter led their respective delegations.
On his return, the minister claimed that the country’s finance delegation had “very useful and constructive talks with the IMF team last week”.
Contrary to Muftah’s claims, it was previously reported that the talks ended on a “disappointing” note, as Pakistan and the IMF failed to reach a staff-level agreement to revive the 6 6 billion program. Stay
In a handout, the IMF called for an “urgent need for concrete policy measures, including the removal of fuel and energy subsidies.”
“We discussed significant lubrication in FY22, which was due to the fuel subsidy in February 2022,” Muftah said in a three-part tweet today.
“We discussed the FY23 targets, where, in light of high inflation, falling foreign exchange reserves and large current account deficits, we need to tighten our monetary policy and strengthen our financial position. Will be.”
I returned from Doha after talks with the IMF. Our delegation had a very useful and constructive discussion with the IMF team last week.
We discussed significant lubrication in FY22, due to the fuel subsidy in February 2022. 1/3
We discussed the FY23 targets, where, in light of high inflation, falling foreign exchange reserves and large current account deficits, we will need to tighten our monetary policy and strengthen our financial position. ۔ Thus, the government is committed to reducing the budget deficit in FY23.
2/3
He added that the IMF team had emphasized the importance of withdrawing fuel and electricity subsidies, which the previous administration had given in violation of its agreement with the fund.
The IMF team stressed the importance of withdrawing fuel and electricity subsidies, which the previous administration had given in violation of its agreement with the fund.
The government is committed to reviving the IMF program and putting Pakistan on the path to sustainable development.
However, the hands of the Pakistani negotiating team were tied to Islamabad and London, which was also felt by the IMF team.
This was the second time that Pakistan and the IMF had tried to reach a staff-level agreement on the seventh review of the 6 6 billion expansion fund facility, but failed. Disagreements can shock markets.
Earlier, the previous PTI government had also failed to persuade the IMF to complete the seventh review and release a loan installment of about ً 1 billion.