The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meeting for the combined seventh and eighth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has been set for August 29.
The Washington-based lender’s resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz told ProPakistani late on Wednesday. The board will approve a tranche of $1.17 billion for Pakistan after it fulfilled all conditions.
The release of the tranche will provide the country with a much-needed boost. Pakistan’s central bank reserves are currently below $8 billion, the lowest since October 2019. The release will also unlock funding from friendly countries that will further shore up the country’s reserves.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that loan disbursements under the EFF would start by the end of August.
After protracted talks, Pakistan and IMF had reached a staff-level agreement in July paving the way for the disbursement of $1.17 billion, subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board.
The lender had said that IMF Board will also consider an extension of the EFF until end-June 2023 and an augmentation of access by SDR 720 million which will bring the total access under the EFF to about $7 billion.
Source: Pro Pakistan