Negotiations for the final economic review of Pakistan's Standby Arrangement Loan Program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are commencing today, marking a significant milestone in the country's economic journey.

Having diligently met all IMF targets under the loan program, Pakistan is poised to engage in discussions aimed at completing its existing arrangement.

The IMF mission, which recently visited Pakistan, emphasized the importance of focusing on concluding the country's current loan program, set to be finalized in April 2024.

As part of this week's negotiations, Pakistan's standby arrangement of three billion dollars will undergo review, with discussions scheduled from March 14 to 18.

In a statement, the Ministry of Finance affirmed the commitment to advancing the negotiations, recognizing the critical role of these discussions in shaping Pakistan's economic future. Upon successful completion of the final economic assessment, Pakistan stands to receive an additional $1.10 billion.

It's worth noting that Pakistan embarked on a $3 billion loan program with the IMF in July 2023, already securing a significant portion of the funds with $1.90 billion disbursed to date. As negotiations progress, stakeholders remain optimistic about the country's prospects for economic stability and growth.

Earlier today, federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in conversation with the media person said that Pakistan wants biggest and longest-running program from the International Monitory Fund (IMF), in the country's history.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Pakistan will try to take a big program according to the quota and vows economic discipline in the IMF program.

“The improvement of the economy is the goal of our government more than the IMF,” Muhammad Aurangzeb said.

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision for the improvement of the economy is clear as the premier gave strict instructions to maintain economic discipline.

“There is no obstacle in the final installment of the current loan program from the IMF,’ the finance minister told media persons, adding that, the IMF has to set to release $1.1 billion in the last installment of the current program.

“Drafting the initial outline of the new IMF loan program is the priority,” he stressed and said economic stability is a common goal of the IMF and the government of Pakistan.

He praised the previous caretaker government for doing a good job to improve the economy. The affairs of privatization were handled with great interest and diligence by Fawad Hasan Fawad.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that he wanted the system to collect tax revenue digitally as transparency in the tax system is one of the top priorities of the government.

The Federal Finance Minister wants to increase the share of taxes in the national income to 10%

He said environment funding may also be discussed with the loan program

“The IMF has been lending more than the quota to some countries to improve the environment,” the Finance Minister said.