PrimePress NEWS
According to information released on Saturday, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that recently traveled to Pakistan to analyze the nation’s administration expressed gratitude to the government for its dedication to these evaluations.
As part of the ongoing $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to address governance and corruption vulnerabilities, the IMF sent a technical team to Pakistan earlier this month to examine the country’s legal and regulatory framework.
A group headed by Joel Turkewitz met with Pakistan’s Chief Justice Yahya Afridi during the visit to examine judicial performance, governance, and reforms.
From February 6 to 14, the IMF’s scoping mission traveled to Islamabad “to lay the groundwork for a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment,” the organization remembered in a recent statement that was posted on its website.
“The IMF looks forward to continuing our collaboration and appreciates the Government of Pakistan’s commitment to this exercise,” the statement said.
The IMF added that in order to prepare for the final evaluation, its scoping team for the GCD assessment will “return to Pakistan later in this year to continue gathering information and exploring opportunities to strengthen governance and integrity, and economic outcomes.”
The mission’s primary goal, according to the Fund, was to evaluate governance and corruption vulnerabilities in six key state operations in a preliminary manner.
The aforementioned include market regulation, rule of law, fiscal governance, central bank governance and operations, financial sector oversight, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).
The delegation met with the Federal Board of Revenue, the State Bank of Pakistan, the Auditor General of Pakistan, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Ministry of Law & Justice, the Finance Division, and the Supreme Court during its tour, according to the IMF.
“The IMF team also met with a variety of other stakeholders, such as international development partners, business associations, and civil society organizations.”
Next week, Pakistan anticipates two more policy-level IMF staff trips in March that will focus on negotiations for over $1 billion more in climate resilience funding and an evaluation of the current $7 billion loan program.
In October of last year, Pakistan formally requested $1 billion in IMF support through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RSF) to address the country’s climate change vulnerability.
An IMF staff team was “scheduled to visit Pakistan in early to mid-March for discussions around the first review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility-supported program and the authorities’ request for assistance” under an RSF arrangement, according to a statement from Mahir Binici, the Fund’s resident representative in Islamabad.
“In this regard, a technical team will be in Pakistan starting in late February to discuss technical issues related to a possible RSF arrangement,” Binici added, referring to the mission that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had set for February 24–28.
Countries that pledge to implement high-quality changes to increase adaptation and resilience against climate disasters are eligible to receive money under RSF.
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