The International Monetary Fund plans on giving Pakistan $1.4 billion next week to support its economy, bring it out of the shortfall in forex reserves and get some budgetary support in the wake of the COVID-19 economic fallout.
According to an international source, the government had last month, requested the international lender to consider giving it “a low-cost, fast-disbursing loan under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to deal with the adverse economic impact of COVID-19”.
“We have been working with the Pakistani authorities since the request was placed … This $1.4 billion disbursement is scheduled to happen next week,” Teresa Daban Sanchez, the IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan.
IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) has been set up to support member economies in urgent need of balance of payments. The financial assistance is made without a full-fledged programme and given under circumstances such as commodity price shocks, natural disasters, conflict and post-conflict situations.
The lender has said that they are working with Pakistan to ensure that Pakistan has enough financial resources “to navigate through this difficult time”. The loan would apart from the ongoing three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $6 billion which Pakistan entered into last July.
