Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is seeking a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the New Global Financing Pact Summit being held in Paris from June 22-23 in a bid to revive a stalled bailout before it expires on June 30.
Pakistan has repeatedly claimed it has fulfilled all prior conditions of the global lender, with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar saying it would be “unjustifiable” for the IMF to not complete the ninth review pending since November and release the next tranche of the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility. In recent weeks, Pakistan has ramped up efforts in a bid to revive the stalled program, with senior officials meeting foreign envoys and urging them to encourage the IMF to release the next tranche.
On Tuesday, Dar held a virtual meeting with Britain’s Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Andrew Mitchell, with sources claiming they discussed the IMF program. An official statement issued by Ministry of Finance stated that Mitchell had expressed deep sorrow and grief on the loss of Pakistani lives in last week’s boat capsizing in Greece. Dar, it said, had expressed gratitude for the condolences and stressed on curbing illegal human trafficking to avoid such incidents in future.
During their meeting, Mitchell acknowledged that Pakistan has been working to achieve economic stability through various policy reforms and assured Islamabad of Britain’s continuous support and assistance to the country.
A day earlier, the prime minister had met with foreign ambassadors to apprise them about Pakistan’s efforts to restore the IMF program. He reportedly conveyed to them that Pakistan has implemented all prior conditions of the global lender, including moving to a market-determined exchange rate. Last month, Sharif called the IMF chief, as well as writing to her, and urged her to revive the stalled $6.5 billion package.
According to local media, the government feels the meeting between Sharif and Georgieva is key to reviving the program, with fears that if it does not happen, there would be no possibility of the next tranche being released before June 30.
In a statement on Twitter ahead of his departure for Paris, Sharif said challenges posed by climate change, natural disasters, environment, rising levels of debt and energy transitions required creative approaches to rethink the global financial system to make it representative and equitable. “This is where the New Global Financing Pact Summit in France represents a unique opportunity to the world to come together and agree to broad principles and steps needed for a comprehensive reform of the international financial system,” he said, adding he would present Pakistan’s position on the need to restructure international financial institutions to counter contemporary challenges facing humanity.
“As a leading stakeholder in G77 plus China grouping and also as a country adversely hit by climate change threat, Pakistan is better positioned for this role,” he added.