The International Monetary Fund has said that it was prepared to assist Pakistan to prevent a looming balance of payment crisis and recommend plans towards economic sustainability.
Speaking with a local newspaper, IMF’s Resident Chief in Pakistan Esther Perez Ruiz said, “The IMF congratulates [Shehbaz] Sharif on becoming the prime minister and looks forward to working with his government and discussing policies that would support inclusive and sustainable growth.”
She said this while remarking on the likelihood of holding negotiations with Pakistani authorities for completing the 7th Review under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). However, the IMF’s office did not offer any date or time frame for the talks to get the deadlocked IMF program going.
According to the report, Pakistan is in need of massive dollar injections immediately to prevent a balance of payment crisis while the foreign currency reserves at the State Bank of Pakistan further decreased to $10.8 billion as of April 8, 2022. China has not yet imbursed its commercial loan of $2.5 billion.
It added that China has indicated that it had agreed in principle to roll over the amount but now they would need to finalize the technical details because multiple parties – a group of three banks – are involved in it.
