ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation is leaving today for Washington this week for talks with IMF and US officials on the country’s struggling economy, officials said yesterday.
The troubled nuclear-armed state, heading for a general election on May 11, has seen its foreign exchange reserves dwindle and currency slide and has been expected to seek a fresh bailout package from the IMF.
The IMF bailed Pakistan out in November 2008 with an $11.3bn loan package to stave off a balance of payments crisis, but Pakistan abandoned the deal in 2011, refusing to carry out strict financial reforms.
The six-day visit will be led by the prime minister’s advisor on finance, Shahid Amjad Chaudhry, who is the de facto finance minister in the caretaker set-up running Pakistan before the election.
As a World Bank and IMF member, Pakistan’s participation is mandatory but the delegation will use the opportunity to discuss the country’s economy with their officials in Washington, a finance ministry spokesman said.
“We will engage with them and update them on macroeconomic data,” he said, though he refused to comment on local media reports saying the team would seek a new IMF package.
The team will also meet State Department officials in Washington to discuss payments of the Coalition Support Fund, money paid by the US to compensate Pakistan for its fight against Islamist militants.
Internews
