Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that there is a plan to discuss the loan extension program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is in Washington DC to attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings.
He will also meet with IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva, US Deputy Secretary of State David Lowe and Deputy Treasury Secretary, IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings scheduled from April 17 to April 19.
Meanwhile, Pakistan will also request the IMF to send a loan mission.
Addressing his first Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, the finance minister asked institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help countries like Pakistan manage the effects of climate change and promote financial inclusion. demanded.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that there is a plan to discuss the loan extension program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is hoped that a new agreement will be reached with the IMF soon.
He said that Pakistan has successfully completed the IMF program, there has been a positive discussion with the IMF officials.
Responding to another question while speaking in Washington on Monday, he said that Pakistan is looking for a bigger and longer program from the IMF because “we need two to three years for structural reforms.”
He said he wants to get a new Expanded Fund Facility (EFF) package from the IMF as soon as we can, but these are just preliminary discussions.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Pakistan does not need many new policies, it only needs to implement these policies.
He said that in discussions with the IMF team in Islamabad, he learned that the IMF recognized Pakistan’s potential but stressed the importance of implementing the promised reforms. He said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif wants a new program from the IMF.
He further said that steps are being taken to increase tax collection, trying to bring more people into the tax net, it is necessary to collect tax from those sectors which were not in the tax net earlier.
Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the economic situation of Pakistan has improved this year, the rate of inflation in Pakistan has decreased from 38 percent to 20 percent, overall GDP is growing in a positive direction.
He said that tax to GDP will have to be taken from 10% to 15%, it will take 2 to 3 years for structural reforms.
It is expected that the IMF team will visit Islamabad next month for further discussions on the loan as the finance minister’s meeting with the IMF in Washington was positive.
Pakistan is also looking forward to receiving $1.1 billion under the current standby arrangement, which expires this month.
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2024-04-21 21:43:16