IMF funding helps stabilise economy: PM

Shehbaz says Saudi trade delegation to visit soon

ISLAMABAD:

The disbursement of $1.1 billion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will help Pakistan achieve greater economic stability, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday.

The funding was the second and final tranche of Pakistan's $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF which it secured last summer to help avert a sovereign default.

"The disbursement will bring more economic stability in Pakistan," the prime minister said in a statement, adding that the standby arrangement was important in saving the country from defaulting on its external liabilities.

The prime minister said that in 2016, PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif had completed the IMF program in his tenure, and the current one was the second SBA nearing completion.

Highlighting the significance of the IMF programme to save Pakistan from economic default, the prime minister said that the bitter and tough decisions were coming to fruition in the form of economic stability.

“Allah has given us the opportunity to improve the economy. We will make all possible efforts to bring in the economic stability. The real success is not to get loans but to get rid of them,” he remarked.

He said the time of riddance from the loans and economic prosperity would arrive soon if the efforts in the right direction continued with the same passion.

The prime minister appreciated Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team, and thanked the IMF managing director for supporting Pakistan in difficult times. Agencies

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that bilateral relations as well as economic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were getting stronger.

Read IMF sees further uptick in Pakistan’s inflation

The prime minister, in a statement issued at the conclusion of his visit to the kingdom mainly to attend the Special Meeting of World Economic Forum, said a delegation of Saudi businessmen was about to visit Pakistan in the coming days.

The visit would help accelerate the pace of economic partnership between the two countries, he added. The prime minister reiterated the resolve to make all-out efforts to materialise the understanding reached between the two leaderships.

With the Pak-Saudi economic partnership, a new era of bilateral ties had begun, he remarked.

He recalled that a record exchange of high-level delegations took place between the two countries during the last couple of months. Highlighting the significance of his three-day visit to the Kingdom marking the very fruitful discussions, the prime minister also mentioned his interactions with the world leaders which led to positive developments in multifaceted cooperation in trade and investment.

Referring to his address at the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that he had categorically made it clear that there could be no peace in the world without establishing peace in Gaza.

He thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for warm hospitality during the visit, and also for his directives to his ministers regarding Pakistan.

He also expressed gratitude to the Saudi ministers for their efforts and full preparations to help reach understanding between the leaderships of two countries. Agencies