Govt urged to revive five-year development planning
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Pakistan to revive its five-year development planning, get climate-sensitive public investment management plans working and publish criteria for project appraisals for transparency to attract global climate financing. The IMF’s guidance comes immediately after the two sides reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of a $3 billion bailout, followed by a public announcement by caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar to postpone a conventional $1.5bn Eurobond issue this year and the potential need for a longer-term IMF loan deal soon after the February elections. Meanwhile, the authorities plan to follow the tight fiscal and monetary policies as committed with the IMF under the ongoing loan deal and build foreign exchange reserves for better credit rating and subsequent launch of a green bond called Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) bond.