Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction regarding the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF.
In a statement issued on Saturday, he expressed his gratitude to the International Monetary Fund for providing assistance to Pakistan during challenging times. He explained that the new loan program will ensure economic stability.
He stated that it was the government's commitment to bring the country to a strong and sustainable recovery. He said Pakistan will eventually be free of debt and will experience economic prosperity.
PM Sharif said difficult decisions had been made for economic security, and the results were coming in the form of economic stability. He also said that measures would be taken to strengthen fiscal and monetary policy in addition to widening the tax base.
The prime minister said that the government was advancing the agenda of economic reforms in order to strengthen the country's economic base and pave the way for sustainable development and prosperity.
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Referring to the increase in foreign exchange reserves over the last one year, he said Pakistan had stabilized the exchange rate and took steps to achieve sustainable growth rate. He expressed confidence that the journey toward economic development will be achieved through our initiatives.
A new staff-level loan agreement has been reached between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under which the country will receive $7 billion over 37 months. The final approval of the loan will be given by the IMF Executive Board.
In a statement issued by IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter, "The Pakistani authorities and the IMF team have reached a staff-level agreement on a comprehensive program endorsed by the federal and provincial governments, that could be supported by a 37-month Extended Fund Arrangement (EFF) in the amount equivalent to SDR 5,320 million (or about US$7 billion at current exchange rates)."
It further said that the agreement was subject to approval by the International Monetary Fund's Executive Board and timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan's development and bilateral partners.
