Pakistan has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to facilitate a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during the upcoming New Global Financing Pact Summit in Paris from June 22-23.
Efforts from the Pakistani side to revive the IMF programme, set to expire on June 30, have been unsuccessful, leading to diminishing hopes.
The ninth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, which was expected to take place since November 2022, remains elusive.
A senior official stated that if the request for the meeting is denied, there will be no possibility of reviving the $6.7 billion Extended Fund Facility. However, if the meeting occurs and progress is made, the chances of reviving the program will improve.
In January 2023, the IMF dispatched a review mission, but the Staff Level Agreement (SLA) could not be finalised.
The IMF presented conditions that needed to be met before signing the SLA, but these conditions have not been fulfilled so far.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar held virtual meetings with IMF officials in April in an attempt to reach a consensus, but no breakthrough was achieved.
The prime minister later engaged in a phone conversation with the IMF Managing Director to discuss the revival of the stalled program, but no substantial progress was made.
IMF Resident Chief Esther Perez Ruiz criticized the 2023-24 budget in a statement, prompting a response from the Ministry of Finance. However, both sides expressed their commitment to resolving the pending ninth review.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Dar held a virtual meeting with Britain’s Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Andrew Mitchell.
During the meeting, Mitchell expressed condolences for the loss of lives in the recent boat capsizing incident in Greece, and Dar thanked him while emphasizing the need to address the global issue of illegal human trafficking promptly.
Mitchell acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts in achieving economic stability through various policy reforms and assured continuous support from the British government.
