Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to visit Washington; set to hold talks for bailout with IMF

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be leading a high-powered delegation to the U.S. to attend the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and for talks with the officials which can help the cash-strapped country to ink a much-needed $1.1 billion bailout with the IMF.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will be leading a high-powered delegation to the U.S. to attend the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and for talks with the officials which can help the cash-strapped country to ink a much-needed $1.1 billion bailout with the IMF.

Mr. Dar along with an official delegation comprising the Finance and Economic Affairs Division secretaries and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, might present fresh proposals before the IMF and World Bank for providing dollar inflows, Geo news portal reported.

“The delegation will be attending the upcoming Annual Spring Meeting of the Breton Wood Institutions (BWIs), known as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, from April 10 to 16,” the report added.

During the meetings, Pakistan and the IMF would also discuss the possibility of combining the remaining 10th and 11th reviews under the $6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme in case the pending 9th review is completed.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is awaiting a much-needed $1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based IMF, which was originally due to be disbursed in November last year.

The funds are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.

The IMF programme, signed in 2019, is going to expire on June 30, 2023, and under the set guidelines, the programme cannot be extended beyond the deadline.