IMF director visits Pakistan to review country’s performance

ISLAMABAD: Director of International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia division has expressed his satisfaction over the three-month performance of Pakistan.

Jahad Azour, Director of International Monetary Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia division visited Islamabad to review the performance of Pakistan’s economy. 

“Our team will make the first review of Pakistan’s economy in the last week of next month (October). Before that, we cannot make any conclusion on the progress of the loan program. However, it is a good start to the program and we are happy with the three-month performance of Pakistan,” Azour, who has arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday along with an eight-member delegation for holding an initial discussion with top Pakistani government officials.

The IMF director held a press conference along with Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Economic Affairs Minister Hamad Azhar, Planning Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir and Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Shabbar Zaidi.

The both sides described it as ” a routine visit”. A finance ministry representative said to a private news channel that the delegation, headed by Azour and Mission Chief to Pakistan Ernesto Ramirez-Rigo, was here “to review the program as per schedule.”

Azour said on Tuesday that he had earlier planned to visit Pakistan in July this year, but the trip got delayed as the prime minister was away (to the US). “So we are here now and we have met with the PM and we are happy to hear the reform agenda of the present government.”

The IMF director noted that the government was making efforts to control the economic imbalances and that the PM had assured him of complete implementation of the reform agenda.

“With the successful implementation of the plan, economic stability will surely come to Pakistan,” he remarked.

The IMF director lauded the performance of FBR, saying that an increase in revenue, especially on the domestic front, was very impressive. “It is a good sign to have a 30pc increase in tax revenue.”