ISLAMABAD (Raheel Hassan):- Significant progress in external financing management of $3 billion. Saudi Arabia has assured to give 2 billion dollars to Pakistan; it has also been confirmed by the IMF. Funding from the United Arab Emirates is also awaited, government also trying to arrange an additional one billion dollars on the IMF conditions.
The IMF has informed the Pakistani authorities that they have received an assurance from Saudi Arabia regarding the provision of two billion dollars and the IMF is satisfied with Saudi assurance sources say.
Pakistan is now awaiting a response from the United Arab Emirates regarding another billion dollars so that a staff level agreement with the IMF can be reached.
IMF has not yet given any green signal for the agreement. Fuel subsidy policy for bikes and small cars is also an obstacle to the agreement; sources say that the policy has to be withdrawn on IMF’s condition.
The government has not yet finalized a strategy for this subsidy.
There is also a possibility of negotiation between Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IMF and World Bank officials, but the date of the talks has not been finalized so far. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is set to visit the United States next week to attend the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group that will take place in Washington from April 10 to April 16.