A Call between Director Kristalina Georgieva and Pakistan PM took place says IMF

Key Takeaways:

• It seems that the government is still unwilling to alter its ways, despite making dubious claims of strength and having only $4.5 billion in foreign exchange reserves.
• The self-imposed deadline for the 9th review mission’s arrival in Pakistan, which expires on Monday, was not mentioned in the statement.
• Pakistan’s interior minister, Rana Sanullah, went on to say that without IMF protection, not even other countries would provide aid.

According to Esther Perez, the IMF’s resident representative, “the call took place in reply to a request made by the PM of Pakistan to talk the International Conference on resilient Pakistan,” she told The Express Tribune.

It’s important to remember that on Friday, the PM’s office issued an official handout that “the IMF managing director called PM Shehbaz on the phone” following his speech at the Hazara Electric Supply Company (HAZECOinauguration )’s ceremony.

The PM also stated in his speech that the managing director had contacted him.

Even though it makes dubious claims of strength and has only $4.5 billion in foreign exchange reserves, it appears that the government is still not ready to change its ways.

Only three weeks’ worth of imports can be financed with the remaining reserves. Pakistan has paid around $8.5 billion in debt over the past 3 months (January through March). Such as in this is a $2 billion loan to the UAE for which the govt is trying to obtain a rollover.

Given the long-standing mistrust between the two parties, such factually incorrect claims could make it harder for Pakistan to persuade the IMF.

Due to its propensity to make commitments when getting a loan tranche but then break them after the tranche has been disbursed, the country has had a difficult history with the IMF. This has led to a significant gap.

The Managing Director of the IMF “had a productive call with Prime Minister Sharif in the sense of the International Conference on Resilient Pakistan to be kept in Geneva on Monday, January 9,” according to an IMF spokesperson in a statement to the media.

The MD once more expressed her sympathies to those who were directly hit by the floods, and also it was stated that she supported Pakistan’s efforts to make a more robust recovery.

The PM asserted that an IMF mission would visit Pakistan in a matter of 2 to 3 days.

“I questioned her to send an IMF team to finish the program’s upcoming 9th review so that the next loan tranche can be released. She gave the assurance that the mission would travel to Pakistan within the next 2 to 3 days, according to Shehbaz.

The IMF spokesperson, however, stated that the delegation “is intended to meet with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the verge of the Geneva conference to talk about outstanding problems and the path forward” in a statement to the media.

The statement did not mention the self-imposed deadline for the 9th review mission’s arrival in Pakistan, which expires on Monday.

It was revealed on Saturday that Pakistan’s official foreign exchange reserves had, for the first time, falling to a precarious level of $4.5 billion due to significant debt repayments.

Additionally, according to the sources in the finance ministry, no dates for the IMF review mission had been chosen as of the PM’s speech.

The prime minister also asserted that Georgieva had questioned whether Saudi Arabia and China supported Pakistan.

Rana Sanullah, Pakistan’s interior minister, continued by saying that without IMF protection, not even other nations will offer assistance.

Sanaullah had stated in Faisalabad, “If we back out from these [MF] terms and conditions, then our economic survival would become virtually impossible, and even our friendly nations cannot extend financial aid to us.”