Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, the federal minister of finance and revenue, gave Nathan Porter, the mission chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a briefing on Thursday about the economic situation brought on by the country’s devastating floods, which impacted infrastructure, crops, and peoples’ means of subsistence.
On Thursday, the minister and the IMF Mission Chief had a virtual meeting.
The finance minister referred to the meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the MD IMF that took place during the latter’s visit to the US, in which the MD IMF promised to support Pakistan in this challenging situation brought on by the flash floods and reevaluate the programme requirements.
The Minister was briefed on the country’s economic condition as a result of the devastating floods, which had an impact on infrastructure, agriculture, and people’s means of subsistence, according to a statement made public by the Finance Ministry.
According to the finance minister, the administration would take action to lighten the economic load while safeguarding the population’s most vulnerable groups.
The minister added that Pakistan’s government wants to solve structural problems in order to eliminate its fiscal imbalance and transition to sustainable growth.
The government’s determination to implement the reforms envisioned by the programme was further confirmed by the finance minister.
IMF Mission Chief Porter gave the IMF’s assessment of the economic issues facing the country and congratulated the finance minister on taking over the Finance Ministry. A meeting between the MD IMF and the Prime Minister of Pakistan was also mentioned, along with the IMF’s support for Pakistan in its hour of need.
The head of the IMF mission also spoke about how foreign lenders may help the nation lessen the impact of the flash floods. The finance minister thanked the IMF Mission Chief for the organization’s assistance during a challenging period for the world economy.
According to official ministry papers, the ministry expects to engage with the IMF for the 9th review of the Extended Fund Facility programme in mid-October 2022. Provinces and Ministries agreed to follow the deficit targets set with the IMF during a presentation made to the new finance minister.
