ISLAMABAD: Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, lauded the Pakistani government for “maintaining economic stability and timely implementation of reforms”.
Taking to her X (formerly Twitter) handle late Friday, she mentioned her meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar at the sideline of the COP28 summit, along with discussions over the progress made by the government of Pakistan to maintain economic stability and timely implementation of planned reforms.
Met with 🇵🇰 Prime Minister @anwaar_kakar at #COP28. We discussed commendable progress made by the government to maintain economic stability and timely implementation of planned reforms. pic.twitter.com/P766NyFyyv
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) December 1, 2023
Earlier, the Caretaker Prime Minister held informal interactions with a number of world leaders, including his interaction with Kristalina Georgieva.
The remarks from the IMF chief came at a time when Pakistan, under a caretaker government, remained in an IMF program.
IMF Stand-by Agreement
On the 12th of July, Pakistan signed a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the monetary body to expel fears of default. Under the agreement, Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the IMF as the first tranche in July, whereas the second tranche of $700 million is expected in the coming few days.
Approval of the second tranche would help Pakistan in further inflows from the multilateral and bilateral partners, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, ADB, and World Bank, to boost its depleting foreign exchange reserves.
A few days before, the IMF chief, during a talk with Bloomberg TV, also appreciated the Pakistani government for pursuing the IMF program despite a difficult situation.
Economy experts believe the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Caretaker Finance Minister should be given the credit for sticking to the program and making some good decisions to help the country out of the economic quagmire.
