Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, will meet with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to “address unresolved problems” before the upcoming conference in Geneva, the lender’s spokesperson announced on Sunday.
On January 9, Geneva will host the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan. The Pakistani government and the UN will share hosting duties for the event.
In order to assist the populace and the government following the devastation of the 2022 floods, it aspires to bring together government representatives, leaders from the public and business sectors, and members of civil society.
IMF managing director and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had a “productive call” on January 6 on Sunday.
The MD once more expressed her sympathy for those who were directly impacted by the flooding and backed Pakistan’s efforts to create a more robust recovery. A delegation from the IMF is anticipated to meet with Dar outside of the Geneva summit to talk about “outstanding concerns and the way forward,” the official continued.
A delegation from the IMF would visit Pakistan in “two to three days” to complete the ninth assessment of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility, Prime Minister Shehbaz announced two days prior to the development.
In 2019, Pakistan signed up for a $7 billion IMF program, which was later increased to $6 billion. The program’s ninth review, which would release $1.18bn, is currently pending. It had earlier been put off for two months due to the PML-N-led government’s unwillingness to accept certain conditions placed before it by the Fund, and the disagreements have yet to be resolved.
According to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office on January 6, Georgieva was invited to attend the Climate Resilient Pakistan Conference in Geneva by PM Shehbaz after the premier’s phone call with the IMF managing director.
She thanked the prime minister for the invitation but clarified that she would only be able to participate remotely because the IMF board meetings were scheduled for January 9 and 10.
The statement said, “The prime minister congratulated the managing director for understanding the obstacles that Pakistan has been facing and gave her the assurance that Pakistan was dedicated to successfully finishing the ongoing initiative.”
