Pakistan will receive another tranche of $700 million under a $3billion Stand-By Agreement reached between the International Monetary Fund and the Government of Pakistan for supporting the latter’s economic reforms programme.
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the 1st review and allows for an immediate disbursement of SDR 528 million (around US$ 700 million) bringing the total disbursements under the SBA to US$ 1.9 billion,” said the Ministry of Finance in a news release.
The Staff-Level Agreement was reached between the IMF staff and Pakistani government regarding the first review under Pakistan’s SBA in November 2023.
This agreement was contingent upon approval by the IMF’s Executive Board.
The current IMF programme, amounting to $3bn, is expected to conclude in the second week of April. The initial tranche of $1.2bn was released in July.
The development holds significance for Pakistan’s economic landscape as the country faces a low level of foreign exchange reserves amid repayments and low non-debt creating dollar inflows.
Currently, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan stand at $8.15 billion as of January 5.
