PM Khan to meet IMF chief in Dubai today

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde in Dubai on Sunday for talks on issues which have held up bailout negotiations, a Pakistani minister said on Saturday.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters PM Khan would meet IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

“This will give us a chance to understand the IMF views, and we will be able to give our version to [Lagarde],” said Chaudhry, who will accompany Khan to Dubai along with Finance Minister Asad Umar.

Chaudhry said Pakistan wants any agreed bailout package – country’s second IMF bailout since 2013 – to be the nation’s last such economic rescue by the IMF.

Pakistan is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1980s to deal with a current account deficit that threatens to trigger a balance of payments crisis.

But talks have been delayed by difficulties in reconciling IMF reform demands with Islamabad’s fears the push is too drastic and could hurt economic growth.

Read More: Pakistan, IMF fail to reach consensus for a fresh bailout package

Officials had expected talks to conclude in November, but they have been delayed as Islamabad harbours concerns that the programme could derail the economy and PM Khan’s plans for his term in office.

Pakistan has in the meantime sought financial assistance from Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who have loaned it more than $10bn to ease the pressure on its dwindling foreign currency reserves.

“The problem is not the (IMF) deal, the problem is the condition attached to the deal,” Chaudhry said.

“We don’t want conditions that hurt Pakistan’s growth prospects. We want a fair deal that can actually help Pakistan in the short term, without affecting our long-term economic goals.”

The IMF talks come amid a worsening macroeconomic outlook, with growth expectations slashed for the current fiscal year to about four per cent from six per cent previously forecast.

Read More: Trade deficit shrinking due to rise in export, foreign remittances: Asad Umar

On Saturday, Pakistan also revised its growth figures for the last financial year to 5.2 per cent from a previously reported 5.8 per cent, after a sharp cut in the figure for large-scale manufacturing, the statistics office said.

When the original estimate was reported in April by the government of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, it was hailed as the strongest growth in 13 years.

Before the revisions to last year’s GDP figures, Pakistan’s deficit to GDP ratio, estimated at 5.8 per cent in 2017-18, was expected to hit 6.9 per cent this year, according to IMF data.

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