ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought a meeting with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on on the sidelines of the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris.
The prime minister arrived in Paris on an official visit to attend the summit being held from June 22-23 on the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The current IMF programme will expire on June 30 and the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has not been approved since November 2022.
The premier has in the past one month has made a telephonic contact with IMF chief and also wrote three letters counting Pakistan’s efforts to revive the stalled $6.5 billion package. Pakistan has said that the government has fulfilled all conditions for the revival of the bailout programme.
The IMF sent out its review mission on January 31 to February 9, 2023, but the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) could not be signed. The IMF placed prior action before signing the SLA, which could not be achieved has also expressed concerns over the federal budget 2023-24.
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Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar held virtual meetings with the IMF higher officials in April to strike a consensus but failed to break the ice between the two sides.
In May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif contacted IMF chief and requested her to help Pakistan revive the stalled $6.5 billion facility. He requested her to intervene in order to complete the pending ninth review for the release of $1.1 billion in financing for the cash-strapped nation.
Pakistan faces about $22 billion of external debt service for the fiscal year 2024 beginning in July, which is about five times its reserves. The coalition government has been negotiating with the Washington-based lender to revive its bailout programme since November.
IMF Resident Chief Esther Perez Ruiz had issued a statement criticizing the budget 2023-24. The Ministry of Finance responded that both sides showed commitment to remain engaged for the conclusion of the pending ninth review.
