PM Imran, IMF chief discuss comprehensive policy package

F.P. Report

BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan met on Friday International Monetary Fund Director Christine Lagarde during his official trip to China.

After the meeting, the IMF director, in a social media post, said that she was glad to meet the Pakistani premier in a meeting where a comprehensive policy package was discussed to alleviate Pakistan’s economy.

“We discussed prospects for a comprehensive policy package and international financial support to help stabilize the economy of Pakistan, and also the need to strengthen governance and protect the poor,” she said.

Earlier, the prime minister met World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China.

During his key note address at the forum, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan and China were entering the next phase of the multibillion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which would focus on lifting people out of poverty.

The IMF team is to arrive in Islamabad later this month for a round of talks.

In backdrop of recent developments, the government named Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, a former World Bank official who was federal finance minister from 2010-2013, as “adviser on finance” replacing Asad Umar.

The newly-appointed head of Pakistan’s finance ministry has vowed to speed up talks with the IMF as Islamabad seeks a crucial bailout deal for a cash-strapped economy facing a balance-of-payments crisis.