Aurangzeb hopes to get $1.3bn from IMF next month
Finance Minister foresees country’s economic growth rate at six per cent in two years; Says tense ties between India, Pakistan to adversely affect latter's economy; informs Pakistan has requested China for 10 billion Yuan
Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme has played a role in stabilising Pakistan’s economy, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.
In an interview with a foreign news agency in Washington, he has said that Pakistan has started a new programme with the IMF under the climate financing.
He has expressed the hope that the IMF Board will approve a $1.3 billion programme for Pakistan at the start of May.
The minister has admitted that tense relations with India will have adverse effects on the country’s economy. “The volume of trade between the two countries has already shrunk. “Last year, the trade volume stood at $1.2 billion,” he has informed.
Aurangzeb has said that the country’s economic growth rate this financial year (FY) will remain at three percent. “However, next year it will fluctuate between four and five percent, and the following year it will reach six percent.”
He has expressed the hope that Pakistan will release Panda bonds towards the end of the ongoing FY. “In this connection, I have had a constructive discussion with the AIIB and ADB presidents,” the minister has informed.
He has also informed that Pakistan has requested China to lend 10 billion Yuan.