IMF says Pakistan has made 'considerable progress'
The International Monetary Fund has welcomed the commitment of Pakistan's government to enforce policies needed to buttress the stability of the country's economy but Pakistan need to press ahead with key reforms to strengthen its finances and reduce debt.
IMF officials had visited Pakistan's capital Islamabad between January 31 and February 9 for "constructive discussions".
“The IMF team welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to implement policies needed to safeguard macroeconomic stability,” Nathan Porter, who led the IMF mission to Pakistan, said.
“Considerable progress was made during the mission on policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances,” Mr Porter said.
The failure of the Pakistani government's economic policies against rising prices around the world has worsened the country's financial situation. The exchange-rate depreciated significantly and inflation has soared.
ECONOMY WAS BADLY AFFECTED BY THE FLOOD
Heavy rain and flooding in June had inundated nearly a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,000 people. Pakistan's economy, weakened before the flood, entered an even more difficult situation. The economic outlook in the near and medium term has deteriorated sharply as a result of the floods.
In August, the International Monetary Fund released about $1.1 billion to Pakistan as part of its seventh and eighth reviews of the country's bailout programme, helping it avoid a default crisis similar to Sri Lanka's.
The fund also agreed to extend the programme by a year to the end of June 2023 and increase the total amount of funding by about $940 million.
