Pakistan adopts pre-bailout recommendation: IMF

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said that Pakistan has adopted the first of the several recommendations it had made during recent talks for a bailout package for its tottering economy.

In a statement the money watchdog said that the South Asian nation will now publish critical economic data through National Summary Data Page (NSDP), a portal run by the Finance Ministry, to ensure transparency.

The portal is based on IMF’s Enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS) established in 2015 to support improved data transparency in financial institutions across the world.

The publication of essential macroeconomic data will provide national policy makers including investors and rating agencies, with easy access to information for monitoring economic conditions and policies, the statement further added.

Louis Marc Ducharme, chief statistician and data officer at IMF, welcomed the milestone.

“I am confident that Pakistan will benefit from using the e-GDDS as a framework for further development of its statistical system," said Ducharme.

The IMF delegation led by Herald Finger, arrived in Islamabad in early November, on a two week-long visit for talks on a financial package on request of the Pakistani government to help in addressing its balance of payment issue.

However, the IMF has put forward some tough conditions for a bailout package.

Pakistan has approached the money watchdog for the second time in the last five years after the country faced serious financial challenges. It will be the 22nd program since Pakistan and IMF relations began.