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Updated 25 Mar, 2024 07:36pm

Pakistan absent from IMF Executive Board meeting agenda

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board has issued its calendar, outlining meetings until April 3, with Pakistan’s case absent from the agenda.

“Please note that the calendar is subject to change, and that the agenda for each meeting is typically finalized the day before the meeting,” says the international lender on its website.

But it is expected that a meeting related to the South Asian country would be held in the second week of April. Last week, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the final review of a $3 billion bailout, where the country will receive $1.1 billion after approval from the Fund’s Executive Board.

The funds are the final tranche of a $3 billion stand-by arrangement Pakistan had secured last summer. The nine-month agreement helped the country avert a sovereign debt default. It merits here to mention that Islamabad is also seeking another long-term bailout.

Last week, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Pakistan would discuss an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF in Washington next month.

The calendar shows that the next meetings are scheduled on March 25 (today) related to Colombia, March 26 related to Morocco, and March 27 related to Algeria, and the lender would review the World Economic Outlook on April 3.

Sources told Aaj News that Pakistan’s case would be discussed after April 15 after the board reviews the outlook.

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