An agreement with IMF over revival of $6 billion EFF had been reached & a formal accord will be signed later this week: Shaukat Tarin
ISLAMABAD, Nov 01 (SABAH): Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin on Monday announced that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the revival of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been reached and a formal accord will be signed later this week.
Talking to the media persons in Islamabad on Monday after addressing the launch ceremony of the Pakistan Single Window (PSW), an ambitious, wide-ranging and comprehensive reform initiative undertaken in the public sector in recent years, Shaukat Tarin said the matters had been settled with the IMF, however, “there is just one issue and we are seeking a legal opinion on it, while everything else is already agreed upon”.
“There are certain conditions in the IMF agreement that require constitutional amendments and such changes cannot be effected because we lack a two-thirds majority [in the parliament],” he told journalists.
Commenting on growing inflation in the country, Tarin said inflation was a global issue, adding that “the prices of commodities in the world are not in my control”.
He stressed that the supply chain was affected due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding however that the economy was now “recovering”.
Talking about the amendment to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rules, the finance advisor said that the SBP law needs constitutional amendments and that we do not have a two-thirds majority for the constitutional amendment.
Referring to the recent cyberattack on the National Bank server, he said that the enemy is sitting in our neighbourhood.
The advisor was of the view that during the last two years, COVID-19 had badly affected the global supply chain and trade, whereas the cost of production and shipping had also gone up.
He said the world economy was recovering now and business activities will not only resume, but also grow at a much faster pace, so there is a dire need to take advantage of this opportune situation
“The worst seems to be over and as economies begin to recover globally, we expect business activity to resume and in fact grow at a much faster pace. Pakistan and Pakistani businesses have to be ready to take advantage of new opportunities,” he said.
Talking about the PSW, he said it would not only facilitate international trade but also help accelerate the digital transformation of the public sector agencies connected to international trade.
He said PSW was in line with the vision of the government to promote competitiveness, transparency and efficiency and lauded Pakistan Customs on leading this initiative.
He said that it was a priority of the government to facilitate businesses, including small and medium-sized ones, by providing a suitable enabling environment for growth and innovation and improving their competitiveness by reducing their cost and time for doing business.
He expected that the single window would provide a comparative advantage to Pakistani businesses and the trading community to enter new markets to enhance exports.
Besides this, he said it would also help counter financial crimes and trade-based money laundering through the integration of international shipping and databases and eventually enable seamless connection in the dissemination of information to Customs, State Bank of Pakistan and other relevant agencies.