Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is confident that the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) will remain stable and won’t devalue by more than 6-8% per year.
He waved off worries about significant devaluation and voiced assurance that there would be no need for drastic measures, citing positive economic signs like robust forex reserves, a steady currency, increasing remittances, and consistent exports.
Pakistan, led by Aurangzeb and his economic team, is currently attending the IMF-WB Spring meetings in Washington this week.
Discussions with creditors are ongoing, with Pakistan anticipating an IMF mission visit next month and targeting a loan agreement by late June or early July. Finance Minister Aurangzeb intends to seek at least $6 billion as part of an extensive loan program through the lender’s Extended Fund Facility.
The coalition government aims to enhance key sectors such as agriculture and information technology to achieve a growth rate exceeding 4 percent. Pakistan is striving to tackle high inflation and sluggish growth, with external financing needs amounting to $24 billion.
It’s worth noting that Pakistan has grappled with persistent structural issues like the privatization of state-owned enterprises, despite prior endeavors to fulfill IMF requirements.
