ISLAMABAD, April 16: Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated on Thursday the debt relief measures by G-20 countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for developing countries, including Pakistan.
The premier lauded the debt relief measures after Finance Advisor Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh called on PM Imran and informed him about the planned approval of an additional $1.4 billion concessionary financing from IMF to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.
In the meeting, the finance advisor also updated the premier about the progress on various components of the Economic Stimulus Package announced by the government.
The meeting between the prime minister and his advisor was in connection with a meeting of the IMF’s executive board scheduled to be held on April 16, to consider an extra loan of $1.4 billion for Pakistan to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves and extend budgetary support in the wake of the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was earlier reported that the government had requested the IMF last month for a low-cost, fast-disbursing loan under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to deal with the adverse economic impact of Covid-19.
“We have been working with the Pakistani authorities since the request was placed. This $1.4 billion disbursement is scheduled to happen next week,” IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan Teresa Daban Sanchez had said last week.
The official had said that the IMF was working with the Ministry of Finance to make sure that Pakistan had “enough resources to navigate through this difficult time”. Under RFI, IMF member countries can get financial assistance on an urgent basis without entering into a full-fledged program. The instant loan would be in addition to the earlier $6 billion bailout package.-Agencies
