Staff-level agreement delayed amid Middle East crisis, negotiations to continue: IMF |
Staff-level agreement delayed amid Middle East crisis, negotiations to continue: IMF
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday confirmed that its mission could not reach a staff level agreement (SLA) on the third review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) despite considerable progress, and that negotiations would continue.
In its ‘end of mission statement’, the IMF said its team, headed by Iva Petrova, held discussions with Pakistani authorities on the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review of the 28-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in Karachi and Islamabad, as well as virtually, from February 25 to March 11 (Wednesday).
“While considerable progress was made in the discussions, these will continue in the coming days, including to more fully assess the impact of recent global developments on Pakistan’s economy and the EFF-supported programme,” Petrova said.
It said that programme implementation under the EFF remained broadly aligned with the authorities’ commitments through the end of February.
“Considerable progress was made in the discussions on policies ahead, including........