Jakarta (Agencies): International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday said Pakistan has formally requested for financial assistance.
In a statement, Lagarde said that an IMF team will visit Islamabad during the coming weeks to initiate discussions for a possible IMF-supported economic programme.
.@Lagarde: I met today with #Pakistan’s Finance Minister @Asad_Umar and his team, who requested our financial assistance to address Pakistan’s economic challenges. IMF team to visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to discuss a possible IMF-supported program https://t.co/YS7EsC2gcE pic.twitter.com/mlyRGAVFcP
— IMF (@IMFNews) October 11, 2018
According to details, Lagarde met with Finance Minister Asad Umar and State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa, who are attending the fund's annual meeting in Bali.
Earlier, in a press briefing, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said that she would meet Pakistani delegation on Thursday while Islamabad is expected to request a bailout for the country’s economic crisis.
Finance minister Asad Umar on October 8 announced that the government has decided to initiate negotiations with IMF for the recovery and stabilization of national economy.
Asad said that the government inherited 6.6% of fiscal deficit, more than a trillion Rupees of unaccounted for losses in the energy sector and an unprecedented and debilitating current account deficit running at 2 billion dollars a month.
He said that fiscal and monetary actions were needed to be undertaken without delay to correct the underlying imbalances.
On October 8, Prime Minister Imran Khan also hinted at approaching the IMF for “bridging loans” during the critical phase the country is passing through. Meanwhile friendly countries are being approached to deposit funds in the State Bank to boost reserves.
Pakistan has been seeking IMF bailouts several times since the late 1980s. The recent one being in 2013, when Islamabad took a $6.6 billion loan to tackle a similar crisis.
