ISLAMABAD: IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said that the global lender stands ready to support Pakistan as she met the cash-strapped country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in Dubai.
Khan is paying a day-long trip to the UAE to take part in the 7th edition of the World Government Summit on the invitation of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
Lagarde in a statement said that her meeting with the Pakistani leader about an International Monetary Fund (IMF)-supported program was constructive.
“I reiterated that the IMF stands ready to support Pakistan. I also highlighted that decisive policies and a strong package of economic reforms would enable Pakistan to restore the resilience of its economy and lay the foundations for stronger and more inclusive growth,” she said.
“As emphasized in the new government’s policy agenda, protecting the poor and strengthening governance are key priorities to improve people’s living standards in a sustainable manner,” Lagarde further said.
Khan also tweeted about his meeting with Lagarde. “There was a convergence of our views on the need to carry out deep structural reforms to put the country on the path of sustainable development in which the most vulnerable segments of society are protected,” he said.
Earlier, Dawn newspaper quoted a senior official involved in the negotiations as saying that Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have narrowed their positions on the scale of adjustments over the past few weeks of continuous engagements.
The IMF is asking for an adjustment of around Rs 1,600-2,000 billion over three to four years. It also wants some corrective measures to put Pakistan’s economy on the right track after witnessing the highest-ever current account deficit.
But the stumbling issue in the talks is the pace of adjustments in the current expenditure. The emphasis on current expenditures comes as a result of a focus on what is known as a “primary balance” in the parlance of public finance.
The IMF has also asked for further monetary tightening as well as a complete free float of the exchange rate. PTI
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