ISLAMABAD: Talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities on the second review have been extended because the agenda was not covered and the remaining items are to be taken up Tuesday (Mar 19).
Talks on the second review were scheduled from March 14 to 18th. Sources said that the agenda could not be covered during the scheduled period; therefore, the two sides have decided to extend the talks for another day.
They added that the IMF in the afternoon session held discussions with officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Finance Ministry, and the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) with regard to updates on anti-money laundering/CFT and access of the banks to assets declaration of public officials.
Pakistan likely to sign staff-level agreement with IMF next week
They added that the IMF was briefed on updates by the FBR, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and FMU Finance, Ministry of Finance. They said that discussions on Tuesday would be held on the remaining items of the second review agenda. They said that the two sides decided are likely to hold a discussion on external financing, as well as energy sector circular debt (electricity and gas prices) and the tax policy Tuesday (Mar 19).
The finance minister has told the media that they will try to hold an initial discussion of the new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) during the second review and further discussion will be held on the sidelines of IMF/World Bank spring meetings in April.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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