Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement has set the stage for bringing the country out of economic difficulties.
In a post on Twitter, the premier lauded the efforts of the teams led by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that led to the revival of the IMF programme.
PM Shehbaz Sharif regarded the efforts as "a great teamwork".
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan and the IMF have reached an agreement under which Pakistan will soon receive $1.17 billion.
In a tweet on Thursday, Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said the agreement has been inked to complete the 7th and 8th reviews of Pakistan's Extended Fund Facility.
The minister thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, fellow ministers, secretaries and especially the finance division for their help and efforts in obtaining this agreement.
According to a detailed statement issued by the global lender in this regard, the IMF Board will consider an extension of the Facility by end of June next year to support program implementation and meet the higher financing needs in Fiscal year 2023.
The IMF also issued policy priorities including steadfast implementation of the budget 2022-23, catch-up in power sector reforms, proactive monetary policy to guide inflation to more moderate levels, reducing poverty, strengthening social safety and governance.
The IMF team led by Nathan Porter, in its concluding remarks, said Pakistan is at a challenging economic juncture where high international prices and a delayed policy action resulted in large fiscal deficits that contributed to rising inflation and eroded reserve buffers.