• Fund’s team to engage with key ministries, FBR, disaster agencies, provincial govts
• Policy review to follow next week to assess govt’s performance under Extended Fund Facility
• All but one structural benchmark ‘complete as of now’, sources say

ISLAMABAD: A technical mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins discussions in Islamabad today (Monday) on Pakistan’s request for over $1 billion in additional financing for climate resilience.

This will be followed by a policy review early next week to assess the authorities’ performance under the ongoing $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The technical team will engage mostly with key ministries, including planning, finance, climate change, petroleum, and water resources, as well as the Federal Board of Revenue, disaster management agencies and provincial governments.

Without going into specifics, the IMF resident representative in Islamabad, Mahir Binici, confirmed the engagements spanning over three weeks from now.

“An IMF staff team is scheduled to visit Pakistan in early to mid-March for discussions around the first review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility-supported programme and the authorities’ request for assistance under a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) arrangement. In this regard, a technical team will be in Pakistan starting in late February to discuss technical issues related to a possible RSF arrangement,” he said.

Official sources said the relevant authorities, particularly the ministries of planning and finance, had prepared documentation for the Climate-Related Public Investment Management Assessment........

© Dawn Business