Finance Minister briefed on IMF, WB annual meetings

ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (APP)::Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar was briefed on Wednesday about the recently concluded annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa, and Finance Secretary Shahid Mahmood briefed the minister about the discussions the Pakistani delegation have had with WB and IMF, according to statement issued here.
The SBP Governor said that the World Bank and IMF were informed by the Pakistani side that the government was focused on maintaining the economic stability achieved during the last four years, and attaining higher economic growth.
He said both the financial institutions were informed about the measures being taken by the government to manage the current account deficit, strengthen the external account position and the Prime Minister’s Package of Incentives for Exporters and policy options being adopted to manage imports.
The Finance Secretary briefed the Finance Minister on the discussions held with the World Bank during the annual event.
He said that the opportunity was utilized to hold in-depth discussions on various matters such as further economic reforms as well as Bank-supported development projects.
He said that the delegation also held productive meetings with ratings agencies, banks and investors on the side-lines of the Annual Meetings regarding Pakistan’s economy.
On the occasion, the minister expressed satisfaction at the participation and contribution of the Pakistani side during the annual meetings.
He welcomed World Bank’s clarification relating to Pakistan’s external financing requirements, and said that the matter had caused unnecessary commotion.
He said that the government was focused on achieving higher, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, in order to capitalize on the hard-earned macroeconomic stability of recent years.
In this regard, he highlighted the strong fiscal performance during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
He stated that Pakistan’s external financing needs were at a sustainable level, and external inflows were expected to be sufficient to meet repayment obligations.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Finance also attended the meeting.