Government will address the structural issues which cause the fiscal deficit to inflate on emergency basis so as to reduce the fiscal deficit, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said.

He was talking to Nathan Porter, the mission chief for IMF, in a virtual meeting, according to a press release received by WealthPK.

He apprised the mission chief about the effects of floods on the country’s economy. He said that the floods have wreaked havoc on the infrastructure of the country with a lot of damage to the agriculture sector including the dairy industry. “Livelihoods of thousands of people have been completely destroyed,” he said.

He told him that the government intended to take emergency measures to relieve the pressures on the economy and to protect the people who are the most vulnerable from the deteriorating economic situation.

The minister told the mission chief that the Prime Minister was promised by the Managing Director of IMF during his recent visit to the United States that the international community and the international financial institutions like the IMF will do all they could to help Pakistan in this dire situation. “MD of the IMF had told the Prime Minister that the fund will revisit its program conditions to help the country,” he said.

The finance minister also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to undertake the reforms envisaged under the program.

Nathan Porter for his part congratulated the finance minister on taking charge of the Finance Ministry. He also shared with the minister the IMF’s assessment of the risks and challenges being faced by Pakistan’s economy. He assured the minister that IMF stands with Pakistan in its hour of need. “The promises made by the managing director to the Prime Minister in the US will be fulfilled,” he said.

Ishaq Dar lauded the role that IMF played in helping Pakistan to get through its difficult times. He thanked Nathan Porter for his personal commitment to help Pakistan and ease the IMF conditionalities.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk