August 13, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 3, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: The government and the IMF have agreed that Rs460 billion revenue collection target set for the current financial year will ‘not’ be revised downward.

Head of the five-member IMF review mission Klaus Enders held first formal meeting with Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Governor State Bank Dr. Ishrat Hussain and the secretary general Ministry of Finance, and discussed with them revenue generation, export growth and inflation performance.

“I have told Mr. Klaus that the government has no plans whatsoever to lower the revenue collection target which will remain Rs460 billion,” the finance minister said.

He told Dawn after the meeting that it was incorrect to say that the government has reduced the revenue collection target by Rs10 billion. “The government will achieve its various targets fixed in the budget 2002-03 without seeking any revision in them,” he said.

Mr Shaukat said that he had apprised the mission head of the state of the economy and efforts being made by the government to achieve turn-around in the economy.

“There is no difference of onion with the IMF on any issue,” the finance minister said, adding the Fund officials did realise that the present government has been taking bold and unpopular decisions only to remove distortions from the economy.

He also said that former IMF Director for Middle East and South Asia and now Adviser to the IMF Managing Director, Paul Chabrier would be visiting Pakistan next week. He said important economic issues would also be discussed with him.

The review mission, which arrived on Friday last, will stay in Pakistan for two weeks and hold meetings with senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, Privatisation Commission, CBR and the State Bank.

After the completion of visit the review team will submit report to its executive board in the first week of September and later the board will meet late September or early October to approve the fourth tranche of about $120 million, out of $1.3 billion Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF).