The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its review mission will visit Pakistan to negotiate the next tranche of the $7 billion loan, with discussions also set to focus on climate financing.
The IMF delegation is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in early March to conduct the first review of the ongoing loan programme.
According to IMF’s representative in Pakistan, Maahir Binesi, the delegation will engage in talks regarding the next installment of the loan and will also review the technical aspects of climate financing at Pakistan’s request.
A separate IMF mission, which will focus on climate-related financial arrangements, is expected to visit Pakistan at the end of February.
During this visit, the technical team will assess the ongoing climate financing initiatives and review potential arrangements for future support.
These discussions are part of Pakistan’s efforts to secure financial resources to combat climate change, which has had a significant impact on the country in recent years.
Moreover, IMF mission is also to arrive in Islamabad next week to discuss around $1 billion in climate financing for Pakistan, an adviser to the Pakistan finance minister said on Thursday.
Advisor to Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad told Reuters that the mission would visit from February 24 to 28 for a “review and discussion” of climate resilience funding.
The disbursement will take place under the Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, created in 2022 to provide long-term concessional cash for climate-related spending, such as adaptation and transitioning to cleaner energy.
Pakistan made a formal request in October last year for around $1 billion in funding from the IMF under the trust, to address the nation’s vulnerability to climate change.
The country’s economy is on a long path to recovery after being stabilised under a $7 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility it secured late last year.
Another IMF mission will arrive in Pakistan in the first week of March for a first review of that facility, Schehzad said.
The Global Climate Risk Index places Pakistan among the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Floods in 2022, which scientists said were aggravated by global warming, affected at least 33 million people and killed more than 1,700. The country’s economic struggles and high debt burden impinged its ability to respond to the disaster.
