Sunday, August 22, 2010

Pak budget to be reviewed in IMF talks

WASHINGTON: Following the catastrophic floods in Pakistan, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Saturday it would review Pakistan’s budget and economic prospects during talks with senior government officials scheduled to start on Monday.

As per details, the Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh along with other senior finance officials are travelling to Washington for the talks with the IMF.

The IMF talks, set to focus on the future of Pakistan’s $10 billion IMF program agreed upon in 2008, would also be an opportunity to speak directly to the Obama administration about aid.

In a statement, IMF Director for the Middle East and Central Asia Masood Ahmed said that “The scale of the tragedy means that the country’s budget and macroeconomic prospects, which are being supported by an IMF financed program, will need to be reviewed”.

He underlined that the talks would evaluate the economic impact of the flooding, assess the measures needed to address the damage, and discuss ways in which the IMF could help.

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