Pakistan finance minister expresses hope of larger IMF program amid Washington meetings

In this handout photograph, taken and released by Pakistan’s finance ministry, Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb (R) speaks to S&P Global and Fitch Ratings representatives on the sidelines of IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington on April 20, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Finance Ministry)

• Pakistan’s finance minister is in Washington to attend spring meetings by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank
• The visit comes days before expiry of Pakistan’s current $3 billion program, which helped it avert a default last year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Saturday expressed hope about his country securing a larger bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistani state media reported, amid Aurangzeb’s meetings with officials of global financial institutions in Washington.
Aurangzeb has been in Washington since last week to participate in spring meetings organized by the IMF and World Bank. His tour is an important one for the South Asian country as Pakistan’s ongoing nine-month, $3 billion loan program with the IMF expires this month.
Speaking to journalists and think-tank officials, the finance minister said Pakistan was requesting a “larger and longer” multi-billion-dollar loan program from the IMF and discussions were underway with the Fund’s officials, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“Once the mission is back in Islamabad, we are going to agree on the priorities and the principles,” he was quoted as saying.
“We have our own views and we’ll share it with IMF. But I would rather leave it to the joint meetings in terms of the size and the duration of the program.”
Pakistan signed the $3 billion agreement with the IMF in June 2023, which helped the South Asian country avoid a default. The country is believed to have requested the IMF for another $8 billion bailout program.
The finance minister’s visit to the US also comes at a time when the IMF has published its updated World Economic Outlook, projecting Pakistan’s growth at 2 percent. The Fund has kept the country’s expected growth rate at 3.5 percent for the next fiscal year.
Separately, Aurangzeb met with representatives of rating agencies, S&P Global and Fitch Ratings, and addressed their concerns on the external side, inflation, primary balance and interest rate regime.
“The minister shared an update on the positive indicators of the country on the back of Standby Arrangement (SBA) signed with IMF,” the APP reported. “He highlighted ongoing reforms in the priority areas of taxation, energy and privatization over the short, medium and long-term horizon.”
Aurangzeb referred to his meetings with officials of multilateral institutions and reaffirmed that the World Bank agenda of climate change, digitalization and human development aligned with priorities of the Pakistani government. He also mentioned potential Saudi investments in Pakistan.