The federal government of Pakistan has estimated that it requires approximately $23 billion in external financing to meet its monetary requirements for the fiscal year 2024-25. To achieve this target, the government has decided to roll over debts worth around $12 billion from friendly countries in the next fiscal year. Finance ministry insiders have revealed that the debts from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and China, amounting to $5 billion, $3 billion, and $4 billion respectively, will be rolled over. The estimate of further new financing from China will also be included in the next financial year’s budget.
In addition to this, Pakistan will receive more than $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under its fresh loan programme. The estimated budget also includes new financing from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. According to the finance ministry sources, new loan programme agreements will be made with financial institutions.
The federal government aims to achieve the budget targets before the IMF review mission arrives in Pakistan, and negotiations for a new loan programme are expected to commence in mid-May. The finance ministry has instructed the ministries to complete the targets before the negotiations on the new loan programme. The details will be given to the IMF delegation when all the important targets are met. The budget strategy paper has also been decided to be approved by the federal cabinet before the IMF review mission’s arrival in the country.
The finance ministry has started preparing the budget, and the targets for debt repayment, defence budget, and tax collections will be set. The development and ongoing budget targets will also be determined.
