ISLAMABAD: Pakistan gets good news from the International Monetary Fundover the economic performance.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the local authorities havefinally reached a staff-level agreement after the lending agency concludedits first quarterly review of $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
“All performance criteria for end-September were met with comfortablemargins and progress continues towards meeting all structural benchmarks,”a statement issued by the IMF said, adding that based on the preliminaryfindings of this mission, staff will prepare a report which, subject tomanagement approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board fordiscussion and decision.
With the conclusion of the first quarterly review, Pakistan expects releaseof second tranche of about $453 million by next month. The visiting IMFmission which was led by Mission Chief Ernesto Ramirez Rigo held a briefmeeting with government economic team led by Adviser to Prime Minister onFinance & Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, on conclusion of the review.
According to officials, the IMF team will be leaving the country after theconcluding meeting. The next review, according to the officials, will takeplace early in 2020.
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As per the statement issued by IMF on Friday, the government’s policieshave started to bear fruit, helping to reverse the buildup ofvulnerabilities and restore economic stability. The external and fiscaldeficits are narrowing, inflation is expected to decline, and growth,although slow, remains positive.
Sustaining sound policies and advancing structural reforms remain keypriorities to enhance resilience and pave the way for stronger andsustainable growth.
According to the statement, an IMF mission led by Ernesto Ramirez Rigovisited Islamabad from October 28 to November 8, 2019 to conductdiscussions on the first review under the EEF. At the end of the visit, Mr.Ramirez Rigo made the following statement:
