Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured that Pakistan will honour the agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund.
In a telephonic conversation with Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva on Saturday, he said that he will not tolerate the slightest violation of the agreement.
The caretaker government will also uphold the agreement after the end of the coalition government’s tenure on August 12, he assured the IMF official.
Georgieva has assured Pakistan of its commitment to help the country on the financial front.
She said that a relationship based on mutual trust has been built between the global lending institution and Pakistan.
She gave credit to the prime minister for his leadership role in the negotiations for the Stand-by Arrangement.
Georgieva said that IMF had concerned regarding the reforms as governments in the past diverted from the agreed policies with the global financial institution.
However, she expressed hope that the government will uphold its promises made to the IMF team, while saying that the financial institution will help Pakistan in every possible way.
The International Monetary Fund executive board, which gave nod to $3 billion worth of nine months agreement, was “sceptical” about Pakistan’s commitment to fulfilling the conditions of the agreement due to the past trust deficit.
But the board yielded when IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva assured it Pakistan would deliver on its commitments as she had personally met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and “seen his seriousness to deliver”.
She said this in a telephone conversation with PM Shehbaz on Friday.
She acknowledged the leadership shown by the PM and added that there was a “strong partnership and mutual trust” between both parties.
Georgieva described Pakistan as an important member of the IMF and vowed to continue to help Pakistan.
The prime minister built a “very convincing case”, she said.
The executive board approved the Stand-By Arrangement on July 12 after signing a short-term IMF deal on June 30. The arrangement came at a challenging economic juncture for Pakistan.
PM Shehbaz appreciated the IMF MD Georgieva for her leadership and professionalism. He also acknowledged that the managing director “felt for the poor” and described her support as “invaluable”.
He praised the IMF MD for her approach and her frank comments during his interaction with her in Paris.
The premier reassured that he would not tolerate an iota of violation of the agreement. “This government is here till August after which an interim government will take over and he is confident that they will continue to fulfil the obligations.”
If the people re-elected his government after the elections, he added that he was committed to turning around the economy with the help of IMF and development partners.
He also spoke about Pakistan’s best-quality mangoes. “It will be an honour to send a gift of Pakistani mangoes to the managing director as a token of respect and deep appreciation,” said PM Shehbaz.
