Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are expected to begin discussions on September 22 for the fourth review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The talks are expected to last around two weeks and will take place in Islamabad and Karachi. The review will assess Pakistan’s performance under the IMF programme and its progress on agreed economic reforms.
The fourth EFF review will take place alongside the IMF’s Article IV consultation with Pakistan. This consultation is being held after a gap of two years. The previous Article IV exercise was completed in September 2024.
IMF mission expected for two weeks
IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan Mahir Binici confirmed that a Fund mission is expected to visit the country in the coming weeks for the programme review and Article IV consultations.
He said IMF review missions normally last about two weeks. Pakistani officials have also confirmed that the delegation is expected to arrive soon.
Preparations for the talks are already underway. The Pakistani government has provided revised monthly and annual import figures to the IMF. The revised figures were submitted after discrepancies worth billions of dollars were found in data previously provided to the Fund.
The IMF team is also expected to examine Pakistan’s implementation plan following the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment report. Governance reforms will therefore also be discussed during the upcoming review.
Article IV underway
The Article IV consultation is a regular IMF assessment of a member country’s economy. It reviews the country’s economic and financial policies. It also allows IMF officials to discuss major economic developments and challenges with government authorities.
Once the consultation is completed, its findings are submitted to the IMF Executive Board. The findings are later made public along with the programme review report.
The upcoming negotiations will therefore cover Pakistan’s commitments under the $7 billion EFF as well as the country’s overall economic situation.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is on track to meet nearly all seven key targets under its ongoing IMF programme, according to Arif Habib Limited (AHL). This could reduce the risk of major hurdles during the upcoming IMF review.
In its latest Pakistan Economic Outlook, the brokerage said publicly available data showed that Pakistan was likely to meet most of the Quantitative Performance Criteria (QPCs) agreed with the IMF. However, one data point has yet to be disclosed.
“Based on publicly available data, we believe Pakistan is on track to meet nearly all seven QPCs,” AHL said.