by Asif Shahzad
LAHORE, Pakistan, June 30 (Reuters) – Pakistan on Friday secured a $3 billion (about 2.75 billion euros) bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), essential for the country which is in the edge of default.
The agreement, which will last nine months, has been validated by IMF teams and must still be approved by its board of directors, which will meet in July.
It provides for an initial payment of 1.1 billion dollars at the end of this meeting.
The agreement reached with the Fund paves the way for other financing: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China, Pakistan’s longtime allies, have already promised to allocate billions of dollars in financing to Pakistan once an agreement has been reached with the multilateral lender.
The IMF expects in exchange reforms in the energy sector, a reduction in inflation and the stabilization of the Pakistani rupee.
(Report Jahnavi Nidumolu, Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Ariba Shahid, writing Shivam Patel, Asif Shahzad, French version Corentin Chapron, editing by Tangi Salaün)
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