Pakistan is making good progress with IMF, finance minister says

KARACHI: Pakistan is making good progress with the International Monetary Fund and hopes to get board approval in September for a new $7 billion loan program, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday.
Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement for the 37-month loan program in July. The IMF said the new Extended Fund Facility program is subject to approval from its Executive Board and obtaining “timely confirmation of necessary financing assurances from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
“We are making good progress with IMF for Board approval in September,” said Aurangzeb in text message to Reuters.
Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.
The IMF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Pakistan’s external financing needs and the executive board’s meeting on Pakistan’s loan program.