WASHINGTON (Dunya News) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to give $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan next week to boost foreign exchange reserves and some budgetary support in the wake of the economic slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.



The government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had last month requested the monetary fund to give a low-cost, fast-disbursing loan under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to deal with the adverse economic impact of COVID-19.



IMF Resident Representative in Pakistan Teresa Daban Sanchez said, “We have been working with the Pakistani authorities since the request was placed … This $1.4 billion disbursement is scheduled to happen next week.”



“The IMF was working with the Ministry of Finance to make sure that Pakistan had enough resources to navigate through this difficult time,” she said.



Teresa Daban Sanchez went on to say, “Pakistani authorities remain committed to the policies and reforms outlined under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) supported program.



“The EFF is still there. We’re working on that. But now the priority is to work on the rapid financing instrument and that’s why everybody is working on that,” Sanchez explained.