ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday sought support for sustainable and inclusive economic growth in his country while holding a meeting with senior World Bank officials in Washington.
Ismail is currently visiting the United States to attend the 2022 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group. He has also held important meetings with IMF officials while seeking a revival of a stalled loan program amounting to $6 billion.
The country’s new finance minister signaled a hike in the prices of petroleum products in Pakistan on Friday, saying the IMF wanted removal of fuel subsidies while promising “targeted subsidy for the very poor.”
Ismail met with World Bank’s South Asia Vice President Hartwig Schafer to discuss the international financial institution’s possible economic support to his country.
Schafer said in a Twitter post that the Pakistani delegation sought the World Bank’s assistance with Pakistan’s “critical reform agenda for sustainable and inclusive growth.”
“We focused on the macro & fiscal sustainability, energy sector reforms & development of renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable land management,” he added.
The finance minister recently highlighted the economic agenda and priorities of the new government at an event hosted by Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank.
“We are an elite-benefiting country that almost every subsidy you speak of goes to richest people. We can’t afford to give the subsidies that we’re giving. So, we need to curtail these.”
The finance minister informed participants that Pakistan was unable to achieve the desired results, including the increase in foreign exchange reserves, despite the IMF program.
“In IMF program normally after belt tightening in first year some consolidation takes place in second year and third year of the program normally sees exchange reserve going up and some consolidation taking place,” he said.
“This is completely inverted in Pakistan. We lost lot of forex reserves and the IMF program is delayed quite a bit. One of the reasons I am here is to try and set the program back on the track.”
Ismail said his government’s aim was to bring about economic and fiscal stability, which could lead to recovery and growth. The government would ensure that this growth is all inclusive by taking care of the poor segments of the society, he added.
