Pakistan & IMF reach staff level agreement on the second & final review under Stand by arrangement

ISLAMABAD, March 20 (SABAH): Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff level agreement on the second and final review under Stand by arrangement.

This came during meetings between Pakistani authorities and the IMF team led by Nathan Porter in Islamabad. Pakistan will receive 1.1 billion dollars after approval from the IMF’s Executive Board.

In his statement following talks, Nathan Porter said Pakistan’s economic and financial position has improved in the months since the first review, with growth and confidence continuing to recover on the back of prudent policy management and the resumption of inflows from multilateral and bilateral partners.

Nathan Porter recognized the new government’s commitment to continue the policy efforts that started under the current SBA to entrench economic and financial stability for the remainder of this year.

The IMF statement further acknowledged that the State Bank of Pakistan remains committed to maintaining a prudent monetary policy to lower inflation and ensure exchange rate flexibility and transparency in the operations of the foreign exchange market.

The IMF team thanked the Pakistani authorities, private sector, and development partners for fruitful discussions and cooperation throughout this mission.