IMF Board Set to Meet on August 29 for Approval of $1.17 Billion Tranche

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meeting for the combined seventh and eighth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has been set for August 29. The Washington-based lender’s resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz told ProPakistani late on Wednesday. The board will approve a tranche of $1.17 billion for Pakistan after it fulfilled all conditions. The release of the tranche will provide the country with a much-needed boost. Pakistan’s central bank reserves are currently below $8 billion, the lowest since October 2019. The release will also unlock funding from friendly countries that will further shore up the country’s reserves. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that loan disbursements under the EFF would start by the end of August. After protracted talks, Pakistan and IMF had reached a staff-level agreement in July paving the way for the disbursement of $1.17 billion, subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board. The lender had said that IMF Board will also consider an extension of the EFF until end-June 2023 and an augmentation of access by SDR 720 million which will bring the total access under the EFF to about $7 billion.