Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the country’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the lender said in a statement.

Subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, Pakistan will gain access to about $1.0 billion under the EFF and approximately $210 million under the RSF.

This would bring total disbursements under the two programmes to around $4.5 billion.

The IMF said the agreement reflects continued progress under the reform programme, noting that economic conditions have improved following a recovery in fiscal year 2025, with growth gaining momentum in the early part of the current fiscal year.

According to an IMF statement, “Inflation and the current account balance remained contained, and external buffers continued to strengthen. The conflict in the Middle East, however, casts a cloud over the outlook as volatile energy prices and tighter global financial conditions risk putting upward pressure on inflation and weigh on growth and the current account.”

These factors may put renewed pressure on inflation, economic growth, and Pakistan’s external balance.

The development follows what officials described as “considerable progress” in earlier discussions between Pakistan and IMF staff on the programme review.

An IMF delegation had arrived in Pakistan on February 26 and began formal talks on March 2.

However, the visit was cut short on March 3, and according to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the team continued engagements remotely from Istanbul.