ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to control its current account deficit which has reached $13.2 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year amid rising oil imports and accompanying global economic challenges.
Pakistan's finance minister Miftah Ismail announced earlier this week that his country had requested the IMF to increase the size and duration of an ongoing $6 billion loan program.
The country's new government is facing significant economic challenges, as its fiscal deficit is expected to rise and its foreign currency reserves are running low.
Jihad Azour, director of IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, told an international wire service the fund was keeping an eye on the economic priorities of the new Pakistani government.
"Of course, we have been over the last few months highlighting the importance of maintaining the current account situation under control [and] reduce the current account deficit," he told Reuters.
Azour did not get into the details of IMF's policy recommendations, though the international lending agency has been asking Pakistan to reverse a relief package of about $1.7 billion offered by its previous administration in February.
IMF officials also want market-driven exchange rate for Pakistan and prudent macroeconomic policies.
Asked if Pakistan needed to take steps like reversing oil and gas subsidies first, Azour said these matters would be taken up by the IMF team during its visit to the country next month.
"We'll discuss these issues and therefore I will not preempt those discussions," he said.
