Islamabad: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday (November 21) announced the completion of a staff-level agreement with the government of Pakistan ‘on policies and reforms needed to complete the sixth review under the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF)’, news sources reported. The final approval, however, will be taken by the IMF executive board after a review of the suggested policy changes.
The fund also announced that following the review completion, the government will have access to 750 million pledged to it through special drawing rights (SDR) that would be equivalent to USD 1,050 million. This would make the total disbursements under EFF to USD 3.027 billion. In its review published on the IMF website, the fund announced that Pakistan’s economy will grow to 4% in Fiscal Year 2022 while 4.5% in the next fiscal year. However, it also said that the inflation and current account deficit (CAD) will also grow in the ongoing FY22. As per the reports, the IMF has lauded the government for implementing crucial policy changes including the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Act Amendments, finalisation of the National Socio-economic Registry (NSER), payment of the first tranche of outstanding arrears to independent power producers (IPPs) and also anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
