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