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Pakistan’s $3 billion bailout program approved by IMF board
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board approved a $3 billion bailout program for Pakistan on Wednesday, the lender said, which will immediately disburse about $1.2 billion to help the South Asian country.
Pakistan and the Fund reached a staff level agreement last month, securing much-needed funding for the cash-starved nation.
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The board’s approval was needed before disbursing the first tranche of money, with the rest to arrive later in instalments.
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan for an amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion, or 111 percent of quota) to support the authorities’ economic stabilization program,” the IMF said in a statement.
It added the arrangement comes at a challenging economic juncture for Pakistan. A difficult external environment, devastating floods and policy missteps have led to large fiscal and external deficits, rising inflation and eroded reserve buffers in FY23.
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