This web page provides information on the activities of the Office, views of the IMF staff, and the relations between Pakistan and the IMF. Additional information can be found on Pakistan and IMF country page, including official IMF reports and Executive Board documents in English that deal with Pakistan.

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Pakistan: At a Glance

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Office Activities

December 1-14, 2023

REO Outreach in Pakistan: Nurturing Economic Dialogue with the Talented Youth

The Res Rep office conducted outreach on the key findings and policy recommendations in the October 2023 REO for the Middle East and Central Asia. The events were hosted by seven academic establishments in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Multan, attracting around 400 students and faculty.

Participants expressed eagerness to comprehend the complexities of MENA and Pakistan-specific challenges of subdued growth, inflationary pressures, and higher-for-longer interest rates. The impact of escalating interest rates on countries’ external funding pressures, the already elevated sovereign-bank nexus, and further crowding out of financing for the private sector, resonated in the discussion. The engagements provided an opportunity to explain the rationale and social orientation of IMF-recommended stabilization and structural policies. The REO’s finding that well-packaged first-generation reforms can front load growth offered a beam hope amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustment and geo-economic risks surrounding the outlook. There was consensus on the need to build resilience through sound policies. Participants further demonstrated awareness of the broad challenges facing Pakistan, emphasizing the need for ambition structural reform alongside stabilization measures.

 

REO Outreach Across Pakistan: Engagements in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Multan, December 2023

Applied Economics Research Center, University of Karachi

Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan

Forman Christian College, Lahore

October 9, 2023

Engagement with a Select Group of Pakistani Talented Youth 

The Resident Representative Office (RRO) in Pakistan engaged with 18 talented youth and applicants for the 2023 IMF Youth Fellowship Program, a competitive capacity building program that has attracted more than 9,000 applicants since its launch in August 2020. The fellowship provides an opportunity for young leaders between 20 and 35 years of age from across the world to become part of our global effort to build forward better and join the IMF at the forefront of the response to global economic challenges. 10 participates attended in person and 8 virtually to an event convened by the RRO to sponsor selected participants to experience the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech (Morocco) in October 2023. The participants presented on various topics, including enhancing private-sector-led growth, the changing post-COVID nature of work, gender gap policies in labor markets, human capital investment, and financial inclusion in Pakistan. Pakistani Ms. Rimsha Rehan was selected by IMF’s headquarters to participate in an in-person workshop at the 2023 Marrakech Annual Meetings led by IMF’s Managing Director, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, moderated by the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Mr. Jihad Azour.

Pakistan Youth Youth Pakistan 2

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  • Off-Record Session with Media Reporters

    Following the achievement of IMF Staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the US$ 3 billion Stand-By arrangement (SBA) the IMF’s Resident Representative Office in Pakistan organized in early July an off the record hybrid briefing session with prominent media reporters of Pakistan. A total of 15 reporters joined in person and virtually with representation from ARY News, Express Tribune, Business Recorder, Financial Times, Reuters, and Bloomberg. The Resident Representative, Ms. Pérez-Ruiz opened the session highlighting the broad contours of Staff-Level Agreement for the SBA emphasizing its importance for Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability by providing a policy anchor for addressing domestic and external imbalances and a framework for financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners. Following this the Ms. Pérez-Ruiz opened the floor for further queries and clarifications. The interactive session touched upon policy efforts towards the implementation of the FY24 budget with due protection of the most vulnerable; the restoration of a market determined exchange rate to reduce Pakistan’s external imbalance; an appropriately tight monetary policy aimed at disinflation; and continued reform efforts to improve energy sector viability, strengthen SOEs and governance, and build climate resilience, all paving the way for higher, more inclusive, and resilient growth.

    July 5, 2023

  • Outreach on Inclusive Growth in Pakistan

    From March 15-17, the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department presented the book “Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and North Africa” at Pakistan's leading academic institutions and think tanks. The events attracted strong interest and facilitated a discussion on reforms that would generally promote higher, more inclusive growth in Pakistan, by streamlining state-owned enterprises, strengthening the business environment, and enhancing the education and skills of Pakistan’s labor force while reducing gender gaps.

    March 15, 2023

  • Resident Representative in Pakistan conducts in-person outreach on the Middle East and Central Asia Department’s 2022 October Regional Economic Outlook at Pakistan’s premier academic institutions

    The IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan conducted during December 2022 in-person outreach at Pakistan’s premier academic institutions on the Middle East and Central Asia Department’s 2022 October Regional Economic Outlook (REO) flagship publication. The events were hosted by the Islamabad National University of Sciences and Technology, Lahore University of Management Sciences, and Karachi Institute of Business Administration (convening Bahria University, Muhammad A. Jinnah University, and Jinnah University for Women).

    December 31, 2022

  • Outreach activities following the combined seventh and eight reviews of the Extended Fund Facility for Pakistan

    November 29, 2022

  • Esther Pérez Ruiz's participation at the book launch on “Trade and Connectivity”

    July 6, 2022

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IMF's work on Pakistan

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Regional Economic Outlook

April 18, 2024

October 2023 SSA REO Cover for blurb - PT

An Uneven Recovery amid High Uncertainty

The Middle East and North Africa and the Caucasus and Central Asia regions are positively impacted by the resilience of the global economy. Lower global commodity prices and vigilant policy responses have helped ease inflation in most countries. However, uncertainty and risks have risen amid ongoing conflicts, shipping disruptions, and reduced oil production. This is leading to an uneven recovery across the Middle East and Central Asia, with growth rates varying this year. Policymakers need to ensure economic stability and debt sustainability while navigating geopolitical risks and improving medium-term growth prospects. Amid high uncertainty, it is essential that countries implement reforms to enhance their fundamentals, including by strengthening institutions. Additionally, countries can seize potential economic opportunities amid shifting trade patterns by reducing long-standing trade barriers, diversifying products and markets, and improving infrastructure.


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