September 27, 2018 (MLN): A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be arriving in Pakistan today, September 27, 2018 to hold talks with Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar and discuss interest and debt repayments coming due, besides the newly enacted economic policies of the country.
According to sources in the Finance Ministry, the delegation will be in Pakistan until October 4, 2018 during which time the delegation will be holding talks with authorities regarding the economic policies and reforms the country has opted to implement and will be provided detailed briefings in that regard.
It is expected that the visit of the delegation will be focused primarily on the possibility of extending fresh loans to Pakistan, as the country has been tackling with macroeconomic troubles on the domestic and external front on account of twin deficits pertaining to the fiscal budget and current account of the country.
Expectations that the country would have to resort to loans from the IMF have been circulating since before the newly elected government took office, with the groundwork for this meeting having been initiated during the tenure of the caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar.
Pakistan has however been in talks with other countries, primarily Saudi Arabia and China, in order to seek and evaluate alternative sources of financing, as the country is evaluating all options on the table before coming to a decision.
While speaking in an interview with Arab News, Finance Minister Asad Umer had recently announced that “we are in discussion with them [IMF], but this is not to negotiate for a loan. Our purpose is to do our homework, in case we want to approach them at some stage.”
Pakistan has already repaid 60 million SDRs to the global lending organization for the principal amount, with 30 million SDR paid on March 06, 2018 and 30 million SDR paid on June 22, 2018. With further debt repayments scheduled very soon, and the country's depleting foreign exchange reserves, further external financing remains the need of the hour for Pakistan.
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