ISLAMABAD: Following conclusion of meetings with Pakistani officials during 3rd to 13th of February, 2020, IMF delegation, (led by Mission Chief to Pakistan Ernesto Ramirez-Rigo) acknowledged that Pakistan had made considerable progress in advancing reforms and continuing with sound economic policies.
According to details IMF team concluded that Pakistan had successfully completed the structural benchmarks and met all end-December performance criteria which had been set for the implementation of $6 billion Extended Fund Facility program.
IMF, maintaining that its delegation had held Constructive and Productive Discussions with the Pakistani Authorities, acknowledged that Pakistan’s economic activity had stabilized and remained on the path of gradual recovery.
Commenting on the current account deficit IMF held that it had declined due to the real exchange rate that is now broadly in line with fundamentals.
According to IMF the shocks caused by sudden depreciation had subsided and it would decline eventually. Noting that Pakistan’s international reserves were increasing at a pace considerably faster than anticipated, IMF delegation held that the first half of the fiscal year had been strong.
A relevant piece published earlier:
IMF keenly observes Pakistani fiscal state of affairs
ISLAMABAD: IMF staff, that is here for the second quarterly review before releasing the next tranche, is minutely examining the Pakistan’s fiscal state of affairs.
Although the PTI government claims that it had a tight control on the government’s expenditure restricting at Rs. 183 billion in July-December. The fiscal deficit in July-Dec 2019 amounted to Rs. 995 billion owing to a massive revenue shortfall of about Rs. 290 billion in corresponding period.
IMF appreciating the austerity measures held: “There was not a single supplementary grant allowed in first six months on the civil expenditure and austerity was religiously followed.”
Of the total $6bn Extended Fund Facility, Pakistan would actually receive net inflows of about $1.65 bn until 2023 as it would be repaying around $4.36bn to the IMF during the same period.
Newspakistan.tv
