Pakistan’s finance minister Asad Umar has on Wednesday held meetings with David R Malpass, President World Bank Group, and senior officials of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), seeking a three-year bailout package.
According to ANI news reports, a team of a delegation led by Umar included finance secretary Younas Dagha, economic affairs division secretary Noor Ahmed and Pakistan governor, Tariq Bajwa, arrived in Washington DC to attend a two-day official meeting.
This comes after the IMF reportedly projected in its yearly World Economic Outlook that Islamabad’s may continue to remain at 2.5 per cent till 2024, until and unless it is in line with indispensable economic reforms.
Pakistan had formally requested for another bailout package from the IMF last year in October.
Since the United States cut short the financial aid to debt-ridden South-Asian nation, the country was going through an economic crisis. Washington has alleged Pakistan provides a safe haven to terror outfits and insurgents, also responsible for the 17-year-old civil war in Afghanistan.
In September, the Pentagon had cut short financial aid worth USD 300 million amid growing concerns over Pakistan’s tackling terrorism. However, Pakistan sought help from various nations including China and Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, Pakistan succeeded to secure loans from Saudi Arabia up to USD 6 billion, in October, on the sidelines of the future investment initiative conference in Saudi’s Riyadh. Pakistan has been seeking a USD 2 billion loan from China.