Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has announced that the country is set to secure an extended programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 25, as reported by The News on Sunday.
Addressing the CFA Society of Pakistan’s 21st Annual Excellence Awards, Aurangzeb expressed optimism that this could be Pakistan’s final IMF programme. However, he cautioned that if the country fails to sustain necessary reforms, a 25th programme might become inevitable. His comments follow Islamabad’s agreement with the IMF on a $7 billion, 37-month loan deal in July. The continuation of the bailout package, however, depends on the IMF’s executive board approval, which is scheduled for a meeting on September 25, with Pakistan included on the agenda.
Pakistan was required to secure $2 billion in external financing from bilateral and commercial sources to meet the IMF board’s approval conditions.
Additionally, Pakistan owes $5 billion in cash deposits to Saudi Arabia, alongside $4 billion and $3 billion from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), respectively.
Aurangzeb highlighted the importance of macroeconomic stability and remarked that Pakistan has experimented with various economic models in the past, none of which produced the desired outcomes.
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