Islamabad:
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a new loan program with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday, his office said in a statement.
Shehbaz Sharif and Kristalina Georgieva met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
Islamabad is seeking a new, larger, long-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) deal with the fund after a current $3 billion standby arrangement expires this month.
“Both sides also discussed Pakistan's entry into another IMF program to ensure that the gains of the past year are consolidated and the economic growth trajectory remains positive,” Shehbaz Sharif's office said.
The IMF's board of governors will meet on Monday to discuss approving $1.1 billion in financing for Pakistan, the second and final tranche of the standby arrangement.
Islamabad secured the deal last summer, thereby avoiding state bankruptcy.
Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said Islamabad could reach a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
Islamabad says it is seeking a loan with a term of at least three years to help achieve macroeconomic stability and implement long-awaited and painful structural reforms, although Aurangzeb has declined to detail the size of the program that the country is pursuing.
Islamabad has yet to submit a formal request, but the Fund and the government are already in discussions.
If secured, it would be the IMF's 24th bailout for Pakistan.
The $350 billion economy faces a chronic balance of payments crisis, with nearly $24 billion in debt and interest payments due in the coming fiscal year – three times the central bank's foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistan's finance ministry expects the economy to grow 2.6% in the fiscal year ending June, while average inflation for the year is expected to be 24%, compared to 29.2% the previous fiscal.
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