ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level pact with the IMF on a $3-billion stand-by agreement, the lender said on Thursday, a decision long awaited by the South Asian nation, which is teetering on the brink of default.
The deal, subject to approval by the IMF board, comes after an eight-month delay and offers some respite to Pakistan, which is battling an acute balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves.
“The new standby agreement builds on the authorities’ efforts under Pakistan’s 2019 Extended Fund Facility-supported program which expires end-June,” said IMF official Nathan Porter.
(Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu; Writing by Shivam Patel and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Himani Sarkar)
