Pakistan, IMF reach staff-level agreement for $1.2bn tranche

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement for a $1.2 billion tranche.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Iva Petrova, issued a statement at the conclusion of negotiations with Pakistan.

She said the IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on the fourth review of the 37-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the 28-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board.

Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to about one billion dollars under the EFF and about 210 million dollars under the RSF, bringing total disbursements under the two arrangements to about 5.7 billion dollars.

Iva Petrova said supported by the Extended Fund Facility, Pakistani authorities have successfully navigated the impact of the Middle East conflict, and strong policies have helped preserve macroeconomic stability. She noted that sovereign rating upgrades and renewed international market access also point to stronger policy credibility.

The IMF statement acknowledged Pakistan's commitment to sound macroeconomic policies.