ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves will reach "between USD 9 to 10 billion" by the end of June, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzey said on Tuesday, underlining that the cash-strapped country's economy continues to be on the right track. Moving forward.
Aurangzeb made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of the seventh 'Leaders in Islamic Business Summit' in Islamabad, where he said the situation expected in June would be "much better in terms of where we were in the last year." ”, Dawn newspaper reported.
He said Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves would reach "between US$9 to 10 billion" by the end of June.
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves again crossed the US$8 billion mark last month after falling below it in late February.Aurangzeb said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be seen as "not an end, but a means to an end".
Commenting on the existing stand-by agreement (SBA) with the global lender, the Minister considered it important to enter into the programme. He said, "It is absolutely vital that as a country we did this for a reason. There is no plan B. The plan is unthinkable when you are in a situation where I said you are less than 15 days of import cover .,
The Finance Minister said the government has initiated discussions with the IMF for a longer and larger program for two reasons - "to bring stability to this macroeconomic stagnation" and to implement the economic structural reform agenda.
“I have been saying that the country does not need policy prescriptions; We have known for a long time what and why, we just don't do it,” Aurangzeb said, adding that the country needs to get into “execution mode”.
“We need to move towards stability,” he stressed, warning that otherwise reforms would not be implemented.
When it came to sustainability of reforms, whether related to power or petroleum sectors, Aurangzeb called the energy equation a "big priority".
On tax challenges, the minister said, “One is policy and enforcement and the other is to clearly bring the low tax and no tax sector under the ambit.,
Cash-strapped Pakistan has made a formal request to the IMF to seek the next bailout package of US$6 to 8 billion with the possibility of an increase through climate financing.
"I'm still hopeful that we'll have a staff-level agreement by the end of June or beginning of July so we can move toward an end. The IMF is a means to an end, not an end." Said.
Pakistan's current US$3 billion arrangement with the IMF will expire at the end of April and the government is seeking a longer and bigger loan to help bring macroeconomic stability and an umbrella under which the country can implement much-needed structural reforms. can do.In March, IMF staff and Pakistani officials reached a staff-level agreement for a second and final review, which was then forwarded to the IMF Executive Board for final approval. If approved, Pakistan will have access to approximately $1.1 billion.
Previous statements by both the IMF and Pakistani officials indicate that the board will not only convene on April 29 but also approve the release of the final tranche of $1.1 billion under the SBA signed in June 2023.
After a contraction in 2023, growth in Pakistan's economy is projected to accelerate to 2 percent in 2024, supported by positive base effects in the agriculture and textile sectors.
Aurangzeb made the remarks while addressing the inaugural session of the seventh 'Leaders in Islamic Business Summit' in Islamabad, where he said the situation expected in June would be "much better in terms of where we were in the last year." ”, Dawn newspaper reported.
He said Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves would reach "between US$9 to 10 billion" by the end of June.
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves again crossed the US$8 billion mark last month after falling below it in late February.Aurangzeb said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be seen as "not an end, but a means to an end".
Commenting on the existing stand-by agreement (SBA) with the global lender, the Minister considered it important to enter into the programme. He said, "It is absolutely vital that as a country we did this for a reason. There is no plan B. The plan is unthinkable when you are in a situation where I said you are less than 15 days of import cover .,
The Finance Minister said the government has initiated discussions with the IMF for a longer and larger program for two reasons - "to bring stability to this macroeconomic stagnation" and to implement the economic structural reform agenda.
“I have been saying that the country does not need policy prescriptions; We have known for a long time what and why, we just don't do it,” Aurangzeb said, adding that the country needs to get into “execution mode”.
“We need to move towards stability,” he stressed, warning that otherwise reforms would not be implemented.
When it came to sustainability of reforms, whether related to power or petroleum sectors, Aurangzeb called the energy equation a "big priority".
On tax challenges, the minister said, “One is policy and enforcement and the other is to clearly bring the low tax and no tax sector under the ambit.,
Cash-strapped Pakistan has made a formal request to the IMF to seek the next bailout package of US$6 to 8 billion with the possibility of an increase through climate financing.
"I'm still hopeful that we'll have a staff-level agreement by the end of June or beginning of July so we can move toward an end. The IMF is a means to an end, not an end." Said.
Pakistan's current US$3 billion arrangement with the IMF will expire at the end of April and the government is seeking a longer and bigger loan to help bring macroeconomic stability and an umbrella under which the country can implement much-needed structural reforms. can do.In March, IMF staff and Pakistani officials reached a staff-level agreement for a second and final review, which was then forwarded to the IMF Executive Board for final approval. If approved, Pakistan will have access to approximately $1.1 billion.
Previous statements by both the IMF and Pakistani officials indicate that the board will not only convene on April 29 but also approve the release of the final tranche of $1.1 billion under the SBA signed in June 2023.
After a contraction in 2023, growth in Pakistan's economy is projected to accelerate to 2 percent in 2024, supported by positive base effects in the agriculture and textile sectors.
