An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will meet finance minister Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of a conference in Geneva beginning on Jan. 9, a spokesperson of the lender said on Sunday, as Pakistan struggles to restart its bailout programme.
The lender is yet to approve the release of $1.1 billion originally due to be disbursed in November last year, leaving Pakistan with only enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month’s imports.
“The IMF delegation is expected to meet with Finance Minister (Ishaq) Dar on the sidelines of the Geneva conference to discuss outstanding issues and the path forward,” a spokesperson of the IMF said.
The conference in Geneva, co-hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, will look to gather international support for the country in the aftermath of devastating floods last year.
The floods killed at least 1,700 people and caused billions of dollars of damage to critical infrastructure.
A plan laying out a timeline and the financing of the rebuilding effort has been a sticking point in talks to clear the ninth review that will release $1.1 billion in IMF funds and unlock other international funding too.
Dar has been critical of the IMF lately, publicly saying that the lender was acting “abnormally” in its dealings with Pakistan, which entered the $7 billion bailout programme in 2019.
The IMF spokesperson also said its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had a “constructive call” with Sharif regarding the Geneva conference and supported Pakistan’s efforts to rebuild.
In a tweet today, the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he would be leaving for Geneva today.
“Will take the opportunity to present the case of flood victims before the world. I will also throw light on steps my govt has taken for relief and rehabilitation,” he said.
“Millions of Pakistanis affected by unprecedented devastation look for compassion and solidarity to build back better,” the prime minister added.
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The delegation led by PM Shehbaz will present a recovery “framework” at the conference where United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron are also due to speak.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Khalil Hashmi, said Islamabad was willing to pay for about half of the bill but hoped for support from donors for the rest.
