KARACHI: The IMF Executive Board will meet on Dec. 8, according to an official calendar, to consider and approve a $1.2 billion disbursement for Pakistan, a move economists say will further stabilize the cash-strapped country’s economy.
The upcoming board meeting comes nearly two months after the Fund reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with Pakistan for the second review of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its $1.4 billion
Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The SLA followed a mission led by IMF chief Iva Petrova, who held discussions with Pakistani authorities during a Sept. 24–Oct. 8 visit to Karachi, Islamabad and Washington, DC.
Board approval would unlock about $1 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF, bringing total disbursements under both arrangements to approximately $3.3 billion.
“It [board meeting] is scheduled early December, yes,” an IMF official privy to the matter told from Washington as he shared the board’s calendar.
Pakistan has relied heavily on financing from bilateral partners such as Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates, as well as multilateral lenders including the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank, to support its recovery.
“The IMF Board’s expected approval of the $1.2 billion tranche on Dec. 8 will further stabilize Pakistan’s near-term external position and unlock additional official inflows,” Khaqan Najeeb, Pakistan’s former finance adviser, told Arab News.
“Continued engagement also reinforces macro stability, as reflected in recent improvements in inflation, the current account, and reserve buffers.”
