ISLAMABAD – International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authoritieskicked off in Islamabad on Monday, as the IMF delegation held separatemeetings with the officials of finance ministry.
Advisor on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh conducted the introductorysession of the first phase of talks. The IMF delegation met Sheikh,Governor State Bank of Pakistan Reza Baqir Chairman Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) Syed Shabbar Zaidi.
Speaking to the media, Sheikh said that the Pakistani rupee has stabilized,funding for the Kafalat program has doubled, whereas, investors are comingfrom all over the world.
Speaking on inflation, the advisor on finance said that several decisionshave been taken to control inflation. The government has given Rs7 billionsubsidy on utility stores and 72 percent of electricity consumers are beingprovided subsidy, he informed.
The national Consumer Price Index (CPI) witnessed an increase of 14.6percent on year-on-year (YoY) basis in January 2020 against the same periodof 2019, monthly review of price indices released by Pakistan Bureau ofStatistics (PBS) revealed.
The IMF staff team would hold discussion with Pakistani authorities tillFebruary 14 and technical level discussion to be followed policy leveltalks. The mission would evaluate implementation of economic targets agreedby Pakistan for US$6 billion facility.
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On the completion of first review of Pakistan’s economic performance inDecember, the IMF acknowledged that Pakistan’s reform program is on trackand already producing results.
Decisive policy implementation has started to address the deep-seatedproblems of Pakistan’s economy and to reverse its large imbalances,preserving financial stability, the US based fund said in its report. Thereport acknowledges that the business climate in the country has improved,and market confidence is returning.
IMF has released SDR 328 million (about $ 452.4 million), bringing totaldisbursements to SDR 1,044 million (approx $1.45 billion). Meanwhile,Pakistan will receive $450 million if talks succeed this time.
