ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Shamshad Akhtar stated that Pakistan anticipates raising approximately $4.5 billion from multilateral and bilateral sources in the current fiscal year 2023-24, excluding the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In an interview with a local journal, the minister said that for the second quarter, the government expects to receive over $1.6 billion from these sources.
She noted that major creditors include the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. She added that the inflows comprise both project-based and programme-based funds.
Regarding negotiations, she said that some programme loans had been completed and disbursements were expected. “The country is currently meeting its debt obligations in a timely manner and intends to continue doing so in the future.”
Discussing the IMF programme, the minister revealed that the first review of the Standby Agreement was successfully concluded, resulting in a Staff Level Agreement (SLA). “This is subject to approval by the IMF’s executive board, and upon approval, Pakistan would have access to around $700 million.”
On the existing economic situation, the minister highlighted that despite domestic and global challenges during FY2023, fiscal and external sector stability had been achieved through various stabilisation measures and structural reforms.
The fiscal deficit stood at 7.7 percent of GDP during FY2023, compared to 7.9 percent the previous year. The current account deficit in FY2023 narrowed down by 87.2 percent to $2.2 billion, compared to a deficit of $17.5 billion in FY2022.
She said that the trade deficit was contained by 38.7 percent in FY2023, compared to an expansion of 36.4 percent in FY2022.
Akhtar stated that the caretaker government took charge in a challenging economic environment, emphasising that turning around the economy required careful economic planning, policy consistency, and a favorable external economic environment. “The government is vigilant about challenges/risks from the domestic and external sides and is taking timely measures to address them,” she added.
The minister also mentioned that the government had taken short-term actions to overcome speculations, smuggling, cartelization, and theft of publicly provided resources. Encouragingly, she stated that timely actions by relevant government regulatory agencies had begun yielding positive outcomes.
Hard-earned gains on the fiscal and external accounts had started translating into a pickup in economic activity during the first four months of FY2024, she added.
