IMF, Pakistan to resume talks to release bailout funds

By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Talks between the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan will resume virtually on Monday, a Pakistani source said, as the two sides try to reach a deal to unlock critical funding to keep the country afloat . is in a situation of lack of liquidity.

Last week they could not reach an agreement and a visiting IMF delegation left Islamabad after 10 days of talks but said talks would continue. Pakistan urgently needs funds to deal with a heartbreaking economic crisis.

“The duration of the talks cannot be confirmed, but we intend to conclude them as soon as possible,” Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh told Reuters in a text message confirming that the talks resumed on Monday.

The talks aim to reach an agreement on a reform program under the country’s $6.5 billion bailout package, which it joined in 2019. Agreement on the program’s ninth review would free up more than 1, $1 billion.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell to $2.9 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of imports. The resumption of the IMF program would also unlock other avenues of financing for Pakistan.

If an agreement is reached, it will still have to be approved by the IMF’s executive board.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; editing by Shri Navaratnam, edited in Spanish by Jose Muñoz at Gdansk Newsroom)