ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has arrived in Washington D.C. to participate in spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Pakistani state media reported late Sunday.
The development came amid Islamabad’s efforts to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a new loan program by the end of the current fiscal year in June.
Pakistan successfully completed a final review of its current $3 billion IMF deal this month, clearing the way for the disbursement of a final tranche of nearly $1.1 billion.
However, the South Asian country remains in desperate need of external financing to shore up its foreign exchange reserves and escape yet another macroeconomic crisis.
“During his stay in US, the Finance Minister will meet IMF and World Bank officials,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported. “Meetings with international media and think tank representatives are also included in the Finance Minister’s schedule.”
On Friday, Aurangzeb met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss Pakistan’s economic strategy ahead of his meetings with IMF and World Bank officials.
“He discussed with the prime minister his scheduled meetings with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other organizations during the visit,” the Pakistani finance ministry said.
“The overall economic situation of the country was also discussed in the meeting.”
Last week, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva confirmed Pakistan was in discussions with her organization on a potential follow-up loan program to its nine-month, $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA).
The IMF chief recognized Pakistan’s commitment to structural economic reforms during an event at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. She, however, noted that some important issues, including the tax base and overall economic transparency, were yet to be addressed by Pakistani authorities.
