‘IMF ‘very receptive’ in terms of agreeing to consider larger, longer programme’

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has stated that Pakistan is on track to secure a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that the money lender had been “very receptive in terms of agreeing to consider a larger, longer programme”.

He made the remarks in an interview with The National published on Monday. The finance minister and his team were in Washington last week to attend the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

They also conducted a series of bilateral meetings with visiting finance ministers, heads of financial institutions, and senior US officials.

In a meeting with the IMF chief and some members of its board of governors, Aurangzeb had reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to carry out “aggressive reforms” to stabilise its economy.

Last week, the finance minister said Pakistan had initiated discussions with the Fund over a new multi-billion dollar loan agreement to support its economic reform programme, adding that the country would at least be requesting for a three-year programme.

At the conclusion of his Washington visit, the minister said that an IMF team was anticipated to visit Pakistan by mid-May to negotiate a new long-term process, aiming to secure a staff-level agreement by mid-July. However, he went on to say he would not speculate the size or the duration of the programme yet.

In the interview, Aurangzeb said that macroeconomic indicators were shifting in Pakistan’s favour. “He also sounded optimistic that Pakistan’s currency has finally stabilised and said rampant inflation is on track to drop to single-digit levels by the end of next year,”

The National said. In a video shared by the publication on social media platform X, Aurangzeb said: “We have entered, as a country, this year in a much better shape compared to where we were this time last time around.

“We’ve had very constructive discussions with the Fund’s managing director and the senior team,” he said.

“And given that we are successfully completing this programme, the Fund has been very receptive in terms of agreeing to consider a larger and longer programme,” he added.

The National said that the government was reportedly seeking a $6 billion IMF loan but Aurangzeb said the figure was more of a “guesstimate”, with the loan’s final details to be determined when an IMF mission would visit Islamabad next month. He said Pakistan would need at least three years of support to carry out a reform agenda across several sectors, including taxation and energy.