ISLAMABAD: The second and final review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled from March 14 to 18 in Islamabad, the finance ministry said here on Wednesday.
This would be SBA’s final review, with staff level agreement expected to follow that review, the statement added.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a Stand-by Agreement (SBA) of USD 3 billion for Pakistan in mid-July 2023.
A staff-level agreement on an SDR 2,250 million SBA (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota) was reached during the last week of June after an IMF staff team led by Nathan Porter held face-to-face and virtual meetings with Pakistani authorities.
On July 13, the fund transferred $1.2 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) out of a total of $3 billion under an agreement approved by the IMF board the previous day.
Later, the first successful revision was done in mid-November 2023, after which $700 million was provided to Pakistan after the approval of the Fund’s Executive Board.
The deal supports the authorities’ commitment to advance planned fiscal consolidation, accelerate cost-cutting reforms in the energy sector, complete a return to the market exchange rate, and implement state-owned enterprise and governance reforms to attract investment and boost jobs. creation while continuing to strengthen social assistance.
