- The Minister says that Pakistan in the last phase of IMF negotiations
- He says that $ 10 billion has been promised for flood rehabilitation projects.
- Pollution, the water crisis threatens economic stability.
Islamabad: The Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed his confidence that Pakistan will soon receive positive news from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that negotiations are in their last stages without major obstacle on the way.
Addressing journalists on Friday, the Minister reassured that Pakistan is on the right track to achieve the objectives of Economic Discipline of the IMF. He stressed that discussions with the world lender are progressing smoothly and that the current talks will end soon.
Aurangzeb underlined the government’s commitment to economic reforms, adding that Pakistan respects the agreed financial framework.
He noted that the country remains focused on fiscal responsibility, which will help obtain the next financing tranche.
Pakistan and the IMF have made significant progress to achieve a staff level (SLA) on the first 7 billion dollar loan exam.
The IMF mission chief in Pakistan Nathan Porter, in a statement last week after concluding his visit, said: “The IMF and the Pakistani authorities have made significant progress to achieve a staff level agreement on the first exam.”
The IMF team, led by Porter, was in Pakistan from February 24 to March 14 to organize discussions on the first review of the Pakistan Economic Program supported by the EFF and the possibility of a new arrangement as part of the resilience and sustainability of the lender (RSF).
The country’s latest loan program, guaranteed by the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last year, played a key role in stabilization of the Pakistan economy and that the government said the country was underway for a long -term recovery.
If the IMF approves the first loan exam, the country is online to receive around 1 billion dollars as the second episode of the loan package.
Threats of climate change
In addition, while attacking an event, the Minister of Finance spoke of the growing challenges posed by climate change. He underlined the rapid merger of glaciers, the economic disturbances caused by the fog to Lahore and the overall vulnerability of the country to environmental changes.
Aurangzeb underlined the need for a structured climate financing system to combat these threats. He revealed that Pakistan had had positive discussions with the IMF in the last two weeks concerning climate funding and resumption after claim.
He also revealed that international donors have promised $ 10 billion for flood rehabilitation projects, but Pakistan has struggled to develop viable implementation plans to fully use assistance. He urged the need for practical and exploitable climate projects to obtain future financing.
The Minister acknowledged that pollution levels increase and control environmental deterioration remains an important challenge. He said the Ministry of Finance would extend full cooperation at the Ministry of Climate Change to respond to these concerns.
The Pakistan water cycle has been negatively affected and insufficient winter precipitation signals, an increasing environmental crisis, warned finmin aurangzeb. The Minister stressed that climate change and population growth are two major threats that the country must urgently attack.
Aurangzeb has also noted progress in the Pakistani partnership with the World Bank, in particular in financing and capacity building for climate resilience. He cited the work carried out by the Everest K2 research center as a positive step in understanding ice melting models and their impact on water resources.
Stressing the urgency of the question, the Minister of Finance called for effectively reducing the deadlines for the project to counter environmental risks. He reiterated that not to take up climatic challenges would have serious economic consequences for Pakistan.