ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has transferred $1.2 billion to Pakistan’s central bank a day after its executive board approved a much-awaited $3 billion bailout facility for the country, finance minister Ishaq Dar announced in a brief televised statement on Thursday.
The government reached a stand-by agreement (SBA) over the nine-month financing facility with the international lender after intense negotiations which began earlier this year.
The recent approval of the agreement by the IMF executive board came as a sigh of relief for the South Asian country amid concerns that it might default on its external financial obligations.
“The IMF has transferred the upfront payment of $1.2 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan account,” Dar said while reiterating other contours of the deal.
He said that the remaining $1.8 billion under the short-term loan program would be disbursed after two economic reviews carried out by the IMF.
The finance minister said the country’s official reserves had increased by $4.2 billion in the ongoing week after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also collectively contributed $3 billion to help Pakistan deal with the financial crisis.
Dar hoped the overall foreign exchange reserves of the country would be between $13 billion to $14 billion after the central bank releases its forex report tomorrow.
“We should now try to take the economy toward a positive trajectory,” he added.
