An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will meet finance minister Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of a conference in Geneva beginning on Jan. 9, a spokesperson of the lender said on Sunday, as Pakistan struggles to restart its bailout programme.
\nThe lender is yet to approve the release of $1.1 billion originally due to be disbursed in November last year, leaving Pakistan with only enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month\u2019s imports.
\n\u201cThe IMF delegation is expected to meet with Finance Minister (Ishaq) Dar on the sidelines of the Geneva conference to discuss outstanding issues and the path forward,\u201d a spokesperson of the IMF said.
\nThe conference in Geneva, co-hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, will look to gather international support for the country in the aftermath of devastating floods last year.
\nThe floods killed at least 1,700 people and caused billions of dollars of damage to critical infrastructure.
\nA plan laying out a timeline and the financing of the rebuilding effort has been a sticking point in talks to clear the ninth review that will release $1.1 billion in IMF funds and unlock other international funding too.
\nDar has been critical of the IMF lately, publicly saying that the lender was acting \u201cabnormally\u201d in its dealings with Pakistan, which entered the $7 billion bailout programme in 2019.
\nThe IMF spokesperson also said its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had a \u201cconstructive call\u201d with Sharif regarding the Geneva conference and supported Pakistan\u2019s efforts to rebuild.
\nIn a tweet today, the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he would be leaving for Geneva today.
\n\u201cWill take the opportunity to present the case of flood victims before the world. I will also throw light on steps my govt has taken for relief and rehabilitation,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cMillions of Pakistanis affected by unprecedented devastation look for compassion and solidarity to build back better,\u201d the prime minister added.
\nRead:\u00a0PM\u00a0leaves\u00a0for\u00a0Geneva\u00a0to\u00a0co-host\u00a0Climate\u00a0Resilient\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0moot
\nThe delegation led by PM Shehbaz will present a recovery \u201cframework\u201d at the conference where United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron are also due to speak.
\nMeanwhile, Pakistan\u2019s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Khalil Hashmi, said Islamabad was willing to pay for about half of the bill but hoped for support from donors for the rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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