Pakistan, IMF ‘virtual talks’ to start from Monday

Pakistan discussed the general outline of conversations with senior IMF officials as part of its strategy to persuade the multilateral organization to conclude the pending ninth review. It anticipates that both parties would begin virtual negotiations next week.

A senior Finance Division official told local media that the IMF has received an email and that “we are waiting for their reaction.”

Although online discussions are scheduled to begin on Monday, it is not yet known whether they will be formal or informal. If official negotiations start, it will be a huge development because informal negotiations have been going on for the past 2.5 months.

A senior Finance Division official also confirmed to local media that the government has discussed the general framework of the impending round of negotiations with IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter.

The official continued by saying that the IMF’s mission chief had informed Pakistan that they were prepared to hold virtual conversations the next week and that, if necessary, the review team may even go to Pakistan.

“The staff-level agreement might be reached without paying a personal visit in the next seven to 15 days,” the top official added, “if all contentious topics are settled in virtual meetings.”

According to the local media reports, the IMF has already requested Islamabad to draft a Memorandum of Financial Policies (MEFP) to reach a staff-level agreement.