Islamabad (November 08): The second round of talks between Pakistan and IMF Delegation will be held in Islamabad today.
The delegation which arrived on October 7 will be in the country for two weeks to hold talks regarding a possible bailout package.
According to sources, data regarding the different sectors of the economy will be shared with the IMF team today. “Data of Pakistan’s power sector will be shared with IMF’s technical team today along with the sector’s losses and recovery,” sources said.
“The second phase of talks between Pakistan and IMF will commence from Monday and the discussion to focus on different policy matters,” sources added.
Talks between IMF and Pakistan will continue till November 20 with finance secretary, chairman Federal Bureau Revenue and governor State Bank of Pakistan in attendance during the meetings.
Pakistan has requested IMF for a $6-7 billion bailout package.
Earlier yesterday (November 07), Pakistan briefed IMF over the country’s economic policies in the first round of talks regarding the 13th bailout program.
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The size of the IMF program will be determined after finalising package from China as Pakistan’s high powered technical team led by Secretary Finance Arif Ahmed Khan and Governor SBP Tariq Bajwa is scheduled to visit Beijing from November 9, 2018, for finalising package for a balance of payment support.
The country’s foreign reserves have plummeted 42 percent since January to around eight billion dollars, barely sufficient to cover two months of imports.
“The initial three to four days (of the IMF talks) are for technical discussions,” Finance Ministry spokesman Noor Ahmed informed. “Thereafter, there will be policy dialogue on the specific contents of the program.”
Officials said Pakistan and the IMF mission will evolve agreement on the memorandum of economic and financial policies and then sign of letter of intent to secure a 36-month extended fund facility loan.
The country ended its three years $6.6 billion programs in September 2016.
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