Islamabad, July 17: Pakistan is expecting to get $4 billion from “friendly countries” this month to bridge a gap in foreign reserves highlighted by the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, Dawn reported on Sunday.
The IMF had reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on Thursday paving the way for the disbursement of $1.18bn. The board is also considering adding $1bn to a $6bn programme agreed in 2019.
As per the IMF, there is a $4bn gap, Mr Ismail told a news conference in Islamabad, referring to the shortfall in foreign reserves.
Depleting reserves, a widening current account deficit and the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar have left Pakistan facing a balance-of-payments crisis.
Without the IMF deal, Ismail said the country could have headed towards default. He said the country would also get around $6bn from multilateral lenders this fiscal year, including $3.5bn from the Asian Development Bank and $2.5bn from the World Bank.
He said $400m to $500m was also expected from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank while the Islamic Development Bank was also likely to increase the funding. (UNI)
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