ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have failed to reach a Staff Level Agreement even after ten days of crucial talks.
Secretary Finance told the media late Thursday night that the negotiations with the IMF have been completed. He said that the IMF team has assured us of striking a staff-level agreement in the coming days as there are some points to be settled between Pakistan and the IMF, which will be decided by the Washington office of IMF explaining that the Fund team wants to further elaborate some agreed points with their high ups.
He also said that both sides reached agreement on prior actions, without explaining the numbers of prior actions. Hamid Yaqoob said that We (IMF team in Pakistan and the Finance ministry) are waiting for an IMF statement which will be released by the lender’s US office.
The Secretary Finance said that the IMF has partially handed over the Memorandum of Economic Policies (MEFP) as we discussed all the points in detail.
On a question, he replied that the IMF team has also assessed the sources of foreign inflows but they are satisfied with our working or assurances.
Earlier, it was reported that the IMF expressed its unease over the projections made by the Ministry of Finance over external financing inflows from multilateral, bilateral creditors and in the shape of commercial loans.
The IMF’s loan is critical for the country’s dwindling economy as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves have fallen to $2.91 billion.
The IMF team on the request of the Pakistani government visited Islamabad and negotiations continued for 10 days.
Earlier, Briefly talking to the media after ‘Road Safety Conference for Parliamentarian, Ishaq Dar has expressed the hope that there would be positive outcome on ongoing talks with the IMF on 9th review.
Things are going on the right track and I am hopeful that negotiations will be completed today, he claimed.
State Minister for Finance Dr. Ayesha Ghos Pasha on Thursday also said that Negotiations with the IMF are in the final stages. There is yet another round of talks with the IMF as the IMF wants some more clarification.
She also said that details regarding the agreement will be shared tonight. It is worth mentioning here that previous government PTI has signed a $6 billion IMF agreement and the ninth review was pending since last September as the current government failed to live up to their promises with the lender and introduced a host of fiscal measures in contravention to the conditions agreed.
