Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President FPCCI, has welcomed the successful completion of first review of the staff-level agreement (SLA) with IMF pertaining to the current Standby Agreement (SBA).
The business community has stood by the government to surpass its revenue generation target despite all odds – and, above all, unbearable cost of doing business in the wake of triple whammy of electricity, gas
and petroleum prices, he added. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, nonetheless, reiterated FPCCI’s stance that Pakistan must embark on a tangible, pragmatic and business-friendly plan to get rid of IMF – and, its unnecessary and ruthless conditionalities; which evaporates any possibility of business &economic growth. We can generate more resources through boosting trade & industry than knocking at the doors of IMF again in April 2024 after completion of the ongoing 9-month standby agreement in March 2024.
FPCCI Chief questioned that why economic team of the government has still not been able to secure other sources of cheaper external financing from multilateral sources and international financial
institutions (IFIs) like World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB)and Islamic Development Bank (IDB). It is pertinent to note that IMF-SBA kicked off 5 months back in July 2023, he added.
Mr. Sheikh explained that due to the lack of institutional arrangements with IFIs, Pakistan will continue to rely on bilateral loans from friendly countries to complete the current IMF program – while, ourpreference should have been investment, trade and industrial collaboration with friendly countries.
