WASHINGTON: The IMF executive board will meet on Dec 18 to discuss the ninth review under the Extended Fund Faci­lity arrangement with Pakistan and is expected to approve the release of $502 million loan tranche.

Pakistan achieved the staff-level agreement with IMF following talks betw­een IMF officials and the Pakistani delegation, led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in Dubai between Oct 28 and Nov 5.

Harald Finger, head of the IMF delegation, descr­i­bed the discussions on the 9th review as productive.

A statement issued af­ter the meeting praised the commitment of the government of Pakistan to economic reforms whi­ch, it said, had significan­tly reduced near-term risks to economy.

IMF expects Pakistan’s gross domestic product to grow by about 4.5 per cent and the inflation is estimated at 4.5pc by the end of this fiscal year.

However, the slowdown in private credit growth and weakness in exports and imports were weighing on growth prospects.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2015