Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday and apprised her of steps taken to address Pakistan’s flailing economy, expressing hope that the funds allocated under the lender’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) would be released as soon as possible.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the New Global Financing Pact Summit in Paris, which the prime minister is attending at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The premier’s meeting with Georgieva comes as Pakistan’s ninth review by the IMF under the 2019 EFF for the release of $1.2 billion stays pending with less than 10 days remaining till the programme’s expiry on June 30.
The country was expected to get around $1.2 billion from the lender in October last year as part of the EFF’s ninth review. But almost eight months later, that tranche has not materialised as the IMF says Pakistan has been unable to meet important prerequisites.
Because of this delay, the programme’s tenth review, which was originally part of the plan, is all but out of question.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today, PM Shehbaz outlined the steps taken by the government for economic growth and stability in his meeting with the IMF managing director.
“He underscored that all prior actions for the ninth review under the EFF had been completed and the government of Pakistan was fully committed to fulfilling its obligations as agreed with the IMF,” it said.
The prime minister, the statement said, expressed the hope that the funds allocated under the IMF’s EFF would be released as soon as possible. “This would help strengthen Pakistan’s ongoing efforts towards economic stabilisation and bring relief to its people.”
Meanwhile, IMF’s Georgieva shared her institution’s perspective on the ongoing review process. The PMO added that the meeting provided a useful opportunity to take stock of the progress in that context.
The meeting was also attended by Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and Pakistan’s Ambassador to France Asim Iftikhar Ahmad.
PM lands in Paris
PM Shehbaz arrived in Paris a day earlier for the New Global Financing Pact, which will be held on June 22 and 23.
He was received by Pakistan’s ambassador in France and diplomatic officials, besides senior French government authorities.
The summit’s objective is to set the foundations for a new global financing architecture beyond the Bretton Woods system to simultaneously address climate change, biodiversity and development challenges and help all countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The prime minister will attend the two-day event along with heads of state and delegates from over 50 countries. He will also join the world leaders at a dinner reception hosted by the French president for the participating dignitaries and hold bilateral meetings with different heads of state.
“During my visit to France, I will present Pakistan’s position on the need for restructuring of international financial institutions to fight the contemporary challenges facing humanity,” the premier tweeted on Wednesday.
“As a leading stakeholder in G-77 plus China grouping and also as a country adversely hit by climate change threat, Pakistan is better positioned for this role,” he said.
The reform of international financial architecture, he said, had long been a key demand relentlessly made at different forums by public policy scholars, policy practitioners and world leaders, especially from the Global South. He said the grave nature of challenges, such as climate change, natural disasters, environment, rising levels of debt and energy transitions, had rung alarm bells.
Paris summit seeks global finance reform
Dozens of global leaders will gather in Paris today for the summit to tease out a new consensus on international economic reforms to help debt-burdened developing countries face a growing onslaught of challenges, particularly climate change.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact is aimed at finding the financial solutions to the interlinked global goals of tackling poverty, curbing planet-heating emissions and protecting nature.
He is hosting the meeting with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has become a powerful advocate for reimagining the role of the World Bank and IMF in an era of climate crisis.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will also attend, as will US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, IMF director Kristalina Georgieva and freshly minted World Bank chief Ajay Banga.
Climate campaigners Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate will be in the French capital, while Billie Eilish will perform at Global Citizen’s ‘Power Our Planet’ concert tonight, lending star appeal to a macroeconomic niche unused to such limelight.
But observers are looking for tangible progress — including keeping promises already made.
“We’d need to see some down payments from the richer countries and their development finance institutions,” said Alex Scott of the think tank E3G.
One likely announcement is that a 2009 pledge to deliver $100 billion a year in climate finance to poorer nations by 2020 will finally be fulfilled, albeit three years late.
A second pledge to rechannel $100 billion in unused “special drawing rights” (SDRs) — the IMF’s tool to boost liquidity — will also be in the spotlight.
The summit comes amid growing recognition of the scale of the financial challenges ahead.
