Pakistan Set to Unlock Financing of $1.5 Billion from Multilateral Donors

Caretaker Federal Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Thursday said the country would get financial assistance from various multilateral development banks once the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) is approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board. Speaking to a private television channel, she said Pakistan would not only get $700 million from the fund but the SBA approval would also unlock financial assistance from other multilateral financial institutions. The minister mentioned that in recent days she has carried out a comprehensive review of World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) loans. She said that the SBA agreement would go to the IMF Executive Board for approval next month, and once approved, it would also unlock about $1.5 billion under quick disbursing programs of multilateral institutions, behind which there were many reforms that the government had implemented. The finance minister said for the implementation of SBA conditions, the government withdrew import bans to promote the investment environment, eased import licensing, and stabilized the exchange rate.