The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the first review of a $3 billion bailout, where the country will receive $700 million after approval from the Fund’s Executive Board, the organisation said on Wednesday.
In June, the IMF executive board had approved the much-needed nine-month standby arrangement (SBA) with Pakistan “to support its economic stabilisation programme”. The approval had allowed for an immediate disbursement of $1.2bn, with the rest to be phased over the programme’s duration — subject to two quarterly reviews.
The IMF’s technical staff had initiated the first evaluation of the short-term loan agreement on Nov 2, which concluded on Nov 10.