Aurangzeb kicks off talks with IMF mission

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb initiated talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on Tuesday, marking the start of crucial negotiations. The IMF team, led by Iva Petrova, is in Islamabad for the fourth review of Pakistan's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The meeting, which included Finance Minister Aurangzeb, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmad, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue Rashid Langrial, and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, aimed to address the impact of external factors such as the Gulf War and the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which have affected revenue and economic activities.

Pakistan is currently engaged in an EFF arrangement valued at $7 billion and a separate RSF arrangement worth around $1.3 billion. The discussions will culminate in a staff-level agreement, which, once approved by the IMF's Executive Board, will grant Pakistan an additional $1 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF.

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