Pakistan Inches Closer to IMF Loan After Securing Debt Extension Assurances

Pakistan has moved one step closer to clinching final approval from the International Monetary Fund for its $7 billion loan program after securing commitments from China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to roll over debt for a year. Quoting Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Bloomberg said the amount of rollovers will be the same as last year. The country has loans worth $12 billion from friendly countries that have been extended for the past few years. Back in July, IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities reached a staff-level agreement on a 37-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) of about $7 billion with the agreement subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board. Pakistan expects to get the final approval from the international lender by the end of the current month. ProPakistani reported on July 31 that Pakistan is close to securing debt rollovers from China, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.