PM Imran Khan to meet IMF Chief in Dubai for finalising bailout package
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*ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde in Dubai on Sunday for talks on issues which have held up bailout negotiations, a Pakistani minister said on Saturday.*
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters PM Khan would meet IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai.
“This will give us a chance to understand the IMF views, and we will be able to give our version to [Lagarde],” said Chaudhry, who will accompany Khan to Dubai along with Finance Minister Asad Umar.
Chaudhry said Pakistan wants any agreed bailout package – country’s second IMF bailout since 2013 – to be the nation’s last such economic rescue by the IMF.
Pakistan is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1980s to deal with a current account deficit that threatens to trigger a balance of payments crisis.
But talks have been delayed by difficulties in reconciling IMF reform demands with Islamabad’s fears the push is too drastic and could hurt economic growth.