Islamabad: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr Nathan Porter visited Islamabad during January 31–February 9 to hold discussions under the ninth review of the authorities’ program supported by the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. At the end of the visit, Mr Porter informed in a statement issued from Washington: “The IMF team welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to implement policies needed to safeguard macroeconomic stability and thanks the authorities for the constructive discussions.”
He said that considerable progress was made during the mission on policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances. Key priorities include strengthening the fiscal position with permanent revenue measures and reduction in untargeted subsidies, while scaling up social protection to help the most vulnerable and those affected by the floods; allowing the exchange rate to be market determined to gradually eliminate the foreign exchange shortage; and enhancing energy provision by preventing further accumulation of circular debt and ensuring the viability of the energy sector.
He said: “The timely and decisive implementation of these policies along with resolute financial support from official partners are critical for Pakistan to successfully regain macroeconomic stability and advance its sustainable development.” Virtual discussions would continue in the coming days to finalize the implementation details of these policies, Mr. Porter said.
