The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities made significant progress toward reaching a staff level agreement on the first review of an ongoing $7 billion program, IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter said in a statement on Saturday.
The mission and Pakistani authorities will continue policy discussions via video conference to finalize these discussions over the coming days, the statement said, according to the Pakistani newspaper, The News.
“The IMF and the Pakistani authorities made significant progress toward reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on the first review under the 37-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF),” Porter said in a statement on Friday.
The lender's team, led by Porter, was in Pakistan from February 24 to March 14 to hold discussions on the first review of Pakistan's economic program supported by the EFF and the possibility of a new arrangement under the lender's Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
The South Asian country, which has faced an economic meltdown in recent years, is treading a long path to economic recovery under the $7 billion IMF program it secured in September last year.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for immediate action from Islamabad to resolve the trade crisis with the Taliban and Central Asian countries.
The chamber’s president highlighted the negative impacts of the closed Torkham border crossing and transit taxes on Pakistan’s economy and regional trade.
Junaid Makda, president of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Friday that increasing trade barriers, rising transportation costs, and the continued closure of the Torkham border are severely harming cross-border businesses.
Makda also warned of potential long-term damage to Pakistan’s economy due to the ongoing situation, stating that it forces traders to use Iranian ports instead of Pakistani routes, which will harm the country’s trade network.
The Torkham border has been closed for more than 20 days due to border tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the crossing will remain closed until the Taliban halt construction activities in the area.
