State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir says that the talks with the International Monetary Fund are going well and that Pakistan and IMF’s goals are aligned.
The SBP governor was speaking to the media after introducing the Roshan Digital Initiative to a gathering at the Pakistan embassy in Washington DC.
Baqir said that there is constant communication with the IMF, and “technical issues” are being discussed.
He said negotiations with the IMF are going well, and the international money lender’s targets are the same as Pakistan’s.
“We [the IMF and Pakistan] share the same goals. We too want to expand our tax net and improve our tax-to-GDP ratio,” Baqir said. “We share the same objectives in other sectors too, such as energy and circular debt. The talks are about how to attain these goals.”
Last month, the IMF said that further discussions with Pakistan are needed on Pakistan’s fiscal spending plans, structural reforms, tax and energy sectors, and social spending.
According to IMF spokesman Gerry Rice, the Fund is holding open, constructive discussions with Pakistan as part of a sixth review of the country’s 39-month, $6 billion financing programme that began in 2019.
Rice declined to say if disbursements under that programme had been halted.
“We stand ready to continue to support Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistani authorities and IMF, for the time being, have agreed to continue talks to narrow down differences. Still, the IMF-sponsored programme has been put on halt mode as the international money lender has conveyed that the sixth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be accomplished in September this year instead of July 2021.
