PM praises friendly nations’ support as Pakistan finally included in IMF board agenda

Islamabad
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally added Pakistan’s new 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to the agenda for its Executive Board meetings scheduled for September 25, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif heaping praise on friendly nations for extending all-out support to help Islamabad secure the bailout package.
In a statement issued today, the global lender said its executive board would meet on September 25 to discuss the approval of $7 billion EFF agreement reached with Pakistan. “Islamabad is implementing the terms of the 37-month agreement,” it added.
Islamabad and the global lender reached an agreement on the 37-month loan programme in July. The IMF has said the programme was subject to approval from its executive board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners”.
Islamabad has to secure external financing of $2 billion from bilateral and commercial lenders within the ongoing week.
According to insiders, Pakistan already owes $5 billion to Saudi Arabia in the form of cash deposits. It must be noted that Pakistan also holds $4 billion in deposits from China and $3 billion from the UAE.
These amounts are separate from an additional $4.5 billion in commercial loans, including those from China, sources quoted the ministry officials as saying.
Top official sources confirmed to The News that Pakistan would have to dispatch its signed Letter of Intent (LoI) to the IMF’s Executive Board with a request to consider approval of $7 billion under 37 months EFF with the written commitment that the Government of Pakistan would comply with all agreed condition of the Fund programme.
Ahead of the IMF’s statement, the prime minister termed the progress with IMF on the bailout “good” and praised the friendly countries support in this regard.
“We have to get rid of debts […] Pakistan must stand on its own feet,” the prime minister stressed while addressing the federal cabinet meeting, hoping that the forthcoming IMF package would be the country’s last.
PM Shehbaz said that the friendly nations have once again extended their support as he refused to divulge into details. “They have repeated the history and supported Pakistan.”
However, he regretted that Pakistan was a nuclear country and “repeated requests for loans will decrease its importance”.
The premier said that the government was making efforts to secure the IMF bailout package, assuring “good progress” in talks with the global lender.
He also lauded the announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan to slash the policy rate by 2%, calling it a step to boost investors’ confidence. He hoped that the policy rate will be slashed to single-digit, just like inflation rate.
The country has relied heavily on IMF programmes for years, at times nearing the brink of sovereign default and having to turn to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to provide it with financing to meet external financing targets set by the IMF.