RIYADH: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that a “real achievement” was debt relief after HPG sent a $1.1 billion tranche.
Prime Minister Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the approval of the third tranche of $1.9 billion that has been disbursed to Pakistan by the Washington-based lender. agreement.
Praising the finance team, including Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb, for their efforts, the Prime Minister said the $1.1 billion tranche would “bring greater economic stability”.
The Prime Minister said that the government has taken sharp and tough decisions related to the economy and said that such decisions are now beneficial in the form of improved and stable economic indicators.
Emphasizing the positive development in our country’s economic indicators, HPG Deputy Managing Director and Chief Antoinette Sayeh pointed to moderate growth, easing external pressure, declining inflation and called Islamabad taking advantage of the stability achieved so far. with macroeconomic policies and structural reforms to create stronger, more inclusive and sustainable growth.
Then, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) approved SDR 828 million ($1.1 billion) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the world lender approved Pakistan’s final tranche of the Independence Agreement (SBA) of $3 billion. ).
The amount will be reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending May 3, 2024, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.
Last week, the SBP said foreign exchange reserves fell by $74 million to $7.981 billion in the week ended April 19 due to the collapse of foreign loans.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by 93 million dollars and reached 13.281 billion dollars. Reserves of commercial banks also fell by $20 million to $5.299 billion, according to the SBP.
An official statement issued late Monday by the International Monetary Fund said the executive board had completed its second and final review of Pakistan’s SBA-backed economic reform program.
The Council’s decision authorized payment of SDR 828 million (about $1.1 billion), bringing total payments under the agreement to SDR 2.250 billion (about $3 billion). “
This is the third and final tranche of the $3 billion SBA and International Monetary Fund that Pakistan secured last summer to avoid a sovereign default.
The International Monetary Fund-based lender said the 9-month SBA, approved by the executive board on July 12, 2023, provides policy support and financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners to address internal and external inequalities.
