ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief Ernesto Ramirez Rigo has said that Pakistan remained committed to all the objectives under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Speaking about the implementations from Pakistan under EFF, Ernesto Ramirez Rigo said that the IMF has already started to see improvements on the fiscal accounts.
Rigo said, “It is very important that this improvement is based on better underpinning for it to be permanent that will require continued work on the tax revenue side, rather than just on total revenue increases, or containing expenditure.”
The programme implementations by Pakistan have been on track for the first review under the EFF.
Read more: IMF approves second tranche of $452.5 million to Pakistan
In a statement, Rigo said, “All the performance criteria for the targets of the first quarter were met or exceeded, in particular, those on the external sector, foreign currency reserves, and NDA, likewise on the fiscal side.”
Last week, the IMF approved Pakistan’s second tranche of $452 million under the $6 billion under EFF and said that Pakistan’s programme was on track and had started to bear fruit, but warned that risks remain.
Pakistan has been a member of the IMF since 1950. Due to unpredictable nature of the economy and heavily dependent on imports, IMF has given loan to Pakistan on twenty-two occasions since its membership, recent in 2019.
Also read: Pakistani authorities to meet IMF officials today
