Govt has received draft MEFP from IMF, confirms Dar

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the government had received the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) related to the completion of the ninth review of a $7 billion loan programme. “We insisted that they (the Fund delegation) give us the MEFP before leaving so we could look at it over the weekend,” he said, adding that the government and Fund officials would hold a virtual meeting in this regard on Monday. “I am confirming that the MEFP draft has been received by us at 9am today,” he added. The MEFP is a key document that describes all the conditions, steps and policy measures on the basis of which the two sides declare the staff-level agreement. The finance minister shared these details at a press conference in Islamabad, shortly after a concluding statement issued by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter said that virtual talks continue between the two sides in the coming days to finalise the implementation of key priorities.