The United States State Department’s Spokesman, Matthew Miller, said that US welcomes the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the details, Matthew Miller made the remarks in a press briefing. He said that the US stands with Pakistan in this tough time and will continue its unwavering support for the economic success of Pakistan.
“What I would say is that we stand by the Pakistani people during these difficult times. We welcome the progress that has been made between the IMF and Pakistan in having reached a staff-level agreement,” Mathew Miller said while vowing to continue supporting Islamabad.
“Our support for the country’s economic success is unwavering,” he further added.
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The State Department spokesperson said that the US will further increase the trade and investment in Pakistan and the technical liaison will continue between the two countries.
“We believe Pakistan has a lot of hard work ahead to be on a long-term sustainable path to economic recovery and prosperity, but we will continue to stand by them through that process,” Miller said.
He also clarified that the US never pressurizes any country to choose either China or the US as the basis of Pak-US relations is public relations. The US wants to further strengthen the partnership and economic relations with Pakistan, he added.
Islamabad recently signed a short-term IMF deal on June 30 under a standby arrangement, under which Pakistan is set to receive $3 billion over nine months, subject to approval by the IMF’s board. With the IMF deal in place, Pakistan can now unlock other external financing.
Read more: Pakistan Set to Become the 4th Biggest IMF Debtor as it Secures $3 Billion Funding
In the plan sent to the lender, sources in the Finance Division said that Pakistan arranged $3.5 billion in bilateral funds from China, $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, and $1 from the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has already deposited $2 billion into the account of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
On the multilateral side, Pakistan aims to secure $500 million from Asian Development Bank, $500 million from World Bank, and $3 billion from the IMF.