PM says time to rid country of loans, economic prosperity to arrive soon if efforts continue in right direction
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed hope for economic stability on Tuesday, a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of the final tranche worth $1.1 billion.
The IMF executive board completed the second review under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) reached last year, allowing for the last tranche to be immediately disbursed. This would bring the total disbursements under the arrangement to around $3 billion.
The IMF and Pakistan reached the staff level agreement on the second and final review on March 20, 2024, for the remaining $1.1.
In a statement, the prime minister said that in 2016 the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif completed the IMF programme during his tenure as prime minister, and the current one was the second SBA nearing completion.
Highlighting the significance of the IMF programme in saving Pakistan from economic default, Prime Minister Shehbaz said that bitter and tough decisions were coming to fruition in the form of economic stability.
“The Almighty has given us the opportunity to improve the economy. We will make all possible efforts to bring in the economic stability. The real success is not to get loans but to get rid of them,” he remarked.
The premier said the time to rid the country of loans, and economic prosperity would arrive soon if efforts in the right direction continue with the same passion.
The prime minister also appreciated Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team and thanked the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgiva for supporting Pakistan in difficult times.