Global lender, IMF, and the South Asian nation have reached a staff-level agreement on a US $3 billion standby agreement just hours ahead of expiry on Friday
Hours after Pakistan was finally able to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US $3 billion bailout, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked China for helping the cash-strapped country in the process.
“During this period, China saved Pakistan from default,” Sharif said.
Global lender, IMF, and the South Asian nation have reached a staff-level agreement on a US $3 billion standby agreement just hours ahead of expiry on Friday.
The funds would offer some respite to Pakistan which has been battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.
A total of $4 billion have already been released from this fund.
An IMF team led by Nathan Porter held in-person and virtual meetings with the Pakistani authorities to discuss a new financing engagement for Pakistan under an IMF Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
At the conclusion of the mission, Porter in a statement said, “I am pleased to announce that the IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on a nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota).”