Pakistani delegation reaches US to negotiate with IMF for fresh loan

WASHINGTON, (NNI): A Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has arrived in Washington D.C, United States to participate in the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

The Governor State Bank of Pakistan, the Secretary Finance, the Additional Secretary and others are included in the Pakistani delegation.

On arrival at the airport, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Masood Khan and the officers of the Embassy of Pakistan welcomed the finance minister. The development came amid Islamabad's efforts to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a new loan program by the end of the current fiscal year in June.

Pakistan successfully completed a final review of its current $3 billion IMF deal this month, clearing the way for the disbursement of a final tranche of nearly $1.1 billion. However, the South Asian country remains in desperate need of external financing to shore up its foreign exchange reserves and escape yet another macroeconomic crisis. "During his stay in US, the Finance Minister will meet IMF and World Bank officials," the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

Meetings with international media and think tank representatives are also included in the Finance Minister's schedule. Pakistan and the IMF last month reached a staff-level agreement on the second and last review of the $3 billion stand-by arrangement, which, if cleared by the global lender's board, will release about $1.1 billion to the country.