To attend the upcoming annual spring meeting of the Breton Wood Institutions (BWIs), also known as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, from April 10 to 16, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be heading an influential group to the US.
The finance minister may submit new proposals to the IMF and World Bank for supplying dollar inflows, along with an official team that includes the secretaries of the Finance and Economic Affairs Division and the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In case the upcoming 9th Review is finished, Pakistan and the IMF may also consider combining the remaining 10th and 11th reviews under the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme during the meetings, according to The News.
The IMF program, which was signed in 2019, will conclude on June 30, 2023, and it cannot be extended past that date in accordance with the established rules.
When the 10th Review has already been delayed, it is uncertain how the two parties will continue with finishing the bailout programme.
The continuing 9th Review was expected to conclude in December 2022, and the 10th should begin in February 2023. On May 3, the 11th Review was supposed to start.
The expense of resolving the issue would rise as a result of the 9th Review’s delayed decision.
There is no simple fix for Pakistan’s failing economy, and the government believes they have made all the difficult choices necessary to restart the stalled IMF plan.
Now, the Fund is requesting confirmation from Pakistan’s bilateral allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar about whether they would offer an extra $6 billion in assistance through the end of June 2023.
The SBP foreign exchange reserves stood at $4.2 billion, which is not even sufficient for meeting obligations on account of foreign debt servicing including principal amount and markup.
