Pakistan

IMF’s resident representative meets PPP’s finance team

Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar holds crucial meeting with Ester Perez Luis in Islamabad

News Desk July 07, 2023

The PPP expressed its willingness to support the IMF programme during the meeting, citing larger national interests as the driving force behind their decision. PHOTO: EXPRESS

In a significant development for Pakistan's economic landscape, Ester Perez Luis, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) resident representative, met with the finance team of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), including Syed Naveed Qamar, the Federal Minister for Commerce, and Saleem Mandviwala.

The meeting held here in the minister's enclave, aimed to discuss the possibility of a standby agreement with Pakistan, which would have a profound impact on the nation's financial stability.

The PPP expressed its willingness to support the IMF programme, citing larger national interests as the driving force behind their decision.

Syed Naveed Qamar, representing the party's finance team, acknowledged the significance of the standby agreement in addressing Pakistan's economic concerns.

He reiterated the PPP's commitment to working in harmony with the IMF to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

According to the Express News, Perez said that the global money lender is also meeting with representatives of PML-N and PTI.

Perez added that before the elections, the Executive Board of the IMF will consider a new standby arrangement agreement to achieve the programme's objectives.

Notably, the global lender has said that it has reached a staff-level pact with Pakistan on a $3 billion stand-by arrangement -- a decision long awaited by the country which is teetering on the brink of default.

The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board later this month, came hours before the current agreement with the IMF was to expire last month. Although essentially a bridge loan, it offers much respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.

The agreement will enable Pakistan to achieve economic stability, and put the country "on the path of sustainable economic growth, God willing," said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The discussion between the IMF representative and the PPP finance team is seen as a positive step towards economic reform and stability in Pakistan.