Reuters reported on Wednesday that the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to convene on April 29 to consider approving a $1.1 billion loan for Pakistan.
IMF and Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the final review under Pakistan’s 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) back in March.
Last year, the global lender approved the SBA for Pakistan totaling $3 billion, with an initial disbursement of $1.1 billion. Pakistan received a second disbursement of $700 million in January, bringing the total disbursements to $1.9 billion.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb anticipates reaching a Staff-Level Agreement on a larger loan program with the IMF by June-July 2024. He outlined a strategy to avoid future IMF programs after securing a new, extensive 24th program.
The last loan tranche is expected to be disbursed next week, with additional inflows projected in June, potentially boosting foreign exchange reserves to $10 billion.
