LAHORE: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and briefed him about the upcoming visit to the United States.
The Finance Minister met the Premier to discuss Pakistan’s economic strategy ahead of his meetings with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials in the United States with an aim to get a fresh loan for the country.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva confirmed this week Pakistan was in discussions with her organization on a potential follow-up loan program to its nine-month, $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA).
The country reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF following the second and final review carried out under the SBA and is expected to receive a tranche of $1.1 billion toward the end of this month.
The finance minister is scheduled to reach Washington on Sunday (tomorrow) where he will attend the IMF and World Bank spring meetings and discuss the possibility of securing another $6-8 billion deal.
According to a statement released by the finance ministry, Aurangzeb briefed the prime minister about the performance of his ministry during the meeting.
“The finance minister informed the prime minister about his upcoming visit to the United States,” it said. “He discussed with the prime minister his scheduled meetings with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other organizations during the visit.”
“The overall economic situation of the country was also discussed in the meeting,” the statement added.
The IMF chief recognized Pakistan’s commitment to the structural economic reforms during an event at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.
However, she also noted that some important issues, including the tax base and overall economic transparency, were yet to be addressed by the Pakistani authorities.
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