Pak delegation in US to negotiate fresh loan with IMF

The Finance Minister was greeted at the airport by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, and Embassy staff….reports Asian Lite News

A delegation from Pakistan, headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, has arrived in Washington, DC, to take part in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings, ARY News reported on Monday.

The Pakistani delegation consists of the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Secretary of Finance, the Additional Secretary, and other individuals.

The Finance Minister was greeted at the airport by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, and Embassy staff.

During his stay in US, the Finance Minister will meet IMF and World Bank officials.

Citing sources, ARY News reported that the negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF are scheduled for next week.

According to sources, Islamabad will request the IMF for a new loan programme.

Last month, Pakistan and the IMF came to a staff-level agreement over the third and final review of the USD 3 billion standby arrangement.

Should the board of the global lender approve this deal, Pakistan will get approximately USD 1.1 billion.

Although a specific date has not been determined, the IMF board is anticipated to evaluate the case in late April.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Al-Qahtani, CEO of Saudi Arabia Holding Company, stated that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have accelerated the implementation of a massive USD 5 billion investment plan, Geo News reported.

Following the visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the two countries agreed to expedite the implementation of a massive investment plan worth USD 5 billion.

The agreements included increasing the Saudi deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan from USD 3 billion to USD 5 billion and injecting investments into a new oil refinery and copper mines.

Moreover, these steps are part of a broader agreement that was reached previously, where Saudi Arabia is in talks to invest USD 21 billion in Pakistan.

This includes establishing a copper mine at USD 7 billion and an oil refinery at USD 14 billion.

The investments come at a time when Pakistan is crippled by severe economic crisis, high inflation rates and a shortage of foreign currency.

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