LAHORE MIRROR — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission has expressed satisfaction with a briefing by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) officials ahead of the fourth review of Pakistan’s economic programme.
According to sources, the IMF mission, which has been in Karachi for the past three days, will travel to Islamabad on Saturday for formal talks. Policy-level negotiations with Pakistan’s economic team are scheduled to begin on Monday.
The mission held discussions with SBP officials and the Sindh government during its stay in Karachi. The Sindh government briefed the mission on its contribution to the federal surplus budget, stating that tax revenue stood at Rs593 billion by June 30. Non-tax revenue also doubled to more than Rs80 billion during the same period.
SBP officials briefed the IMF mission on the country’s economic performance, including foreign exchange reserves, monetary policy, imports and the foreign exchange market. According to Finance Ministry sources, the country has achieved its target of maintaining foreign exchange reserves above $17 billion.
The central bank officials also briefed the mission on developments in the current account and the increase in foreign direct investment.
The upcoming policy-level discussions will review Pakistan’s progress under the programme and assess compliance with the agreed economic targets and reforms.
