Islamabad, Sep 25 (FN Bureau) Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed optimism that the International Monetary Fund board will approve Pakistan’s 37-month $7 billion Extended Fund Facility arrangement in its upcoming meeting, media reports said on Wednesday. He was speaking at “High Level Private Sector Dialogue – CPEC-II and the Region” virtually through Zoom. The event was organised by the Pakistan Regional Economic Forum.” Pakistan successfully concluded the nine-month Standby Agreement (SBA) with IMF and we have the IMF board meeting tomorrow here in US. We are very hopeful the board would approve the 37-month $7 billion program,” he said on Tuesday.
The minister said, under the programme, Pakistan was committed to doing structural reforms. He said Pakistan needed to stay on the reform agenda, whether on taxation, the energy sector, state-owned enterprises, or the privatisation side. “We will stay on course,” The Express Tribune reported. He expressed gratitude to China for its support of the fund programme as the lone standing partner of the country. The minister stated that Pakistan’s economic trajectory has continued from the previous fiscal year to the first quarter of this fiscal year, with notable improvements in various economic indicators.