ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the country aimed to agree the contours of a new International Monetary Fund loan nest month (May). The minister said this while talking to Reuters adding that talked were also underway with ratings agencies to lay the groundwork for a return to international debt markets.
Aurangzeb further said that Pakistan’s current $3 billion arrangement with the fund would be ended till end of this month and the government would now seeking for a longer and bigger loan to help bring permanence to macroeconomic stability as well as an umbrella under which the country can execute much required structural reforms.
“We expect the mission from the international lending body to be in Islamabad around the middle of May, this year, and that is when some of these outlines would start to develop,” the minister after meeting with the Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings.
He, however, avoided to talk about the scale of the program the government hoped to secure. However, Pakistan is likely to seek, opens new tab for at least $6 billion. The minister said that once the IMF loan was agreed, Pakistan would also move for additional financing from the Fund under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
As per media reports, Pakistan has managed to accumulate foreign exchange reserves in recent months and was on track for its war chest to hit the agreeable $10 billion – or roughly two months import cover – by end-June.
Finance Minister on Debt Situation
While commenting on clearing the huge multilateral and bilateral debts, the minister said that the bulk of the country’s bilateral debt, including the one from China was (29th February 2024) rolled over that would tale the country in good shape adding that “I don’t see a big issue during this fiscal year nor next fiscal year, as we need to repay roughly $25 billion dollars every fiscal year.”
Finance Minister further stated that Pakistan also aimed to come back to international capital markets, possibly with a green bond. However, there was some more work to be done before the move.
