Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the country will secure an extended International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on September 25.
Speaking at the CFA Society of Pakistan’s 21st Annual Excellence Awards, Aurangzeb expressed hope that it will be the country’s final IMF programme. However, he warned that failure to sustain reforms might lead to a 25th programme.
His remarks come as Islamabad reached an agreement with the Washington-based lender on a $7 billion 37-month loan programme in July earlier this year. However, the future of the bailout package is subject to the approval of the Fund’s executive board which is set to convene on September 25 with Pakistan included in its meeting agenda.
The country was required to secure external financing of $2 billion from bilateral and commercial lenders as a pre-requisite for the IMF board’s approval.
It is to be noted that Pakistan owes $5 billion to Saudi Arabia in the form of cash deposits, along with 4$ billion and $3 billion from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, the finance minister stressed the need for macroeconomic stability and said that Pakistan has previously experimented with various economic models, none of which yielded the desired results.
