ISLAMABAD – International Monetary Fund (IMF) high level delegation wouldbe arriving in Pakistan over the economic bailout package negotiations withPakistan government.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday said Pakistan has formallyrequested for financial assistance.
In a statement, Lagarde said she met with Finance Minister Asad Umar, StateBank Governor Tariq Bajwa and members of their economic team. “During themeeting, they requested financial assistance from the IMF to help addressPakistan’s economic challenges,” she said in the statement. “An IMF teamwill visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to initiate discussions for apossible IMF-supported economic programme,” she added.
The formal request follows an apparent 7 per cent devaluation by thecentral bank of Pakistani rupee on Tuesday.
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Earlier in the day, Lagarde had said she would meet with Pakistaniofficials with expectations that Islamabad will request a bailout of itsshaky economy. “I’m assuming that there might be a programme request ontheir part, but that has not been discussed and we will explore that in theafternoon,” she had told a press briefing.
