Washington, October 14, 2025: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that Pakistan expects to finalise a staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week, paving the way for the release of $1.24 billion in the next tranche of its loan programme.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, the minister said the talks had been “constructive,” adding that the government was optimistic about concluding the review soon.
“The mission was on the ground for a couple of weeks; we had very constructive dialogue with them around the quantitative and structural benchmarks,” Aurangzeb said. “We’ve been having follow-up discussions, and during the course of this week, we’re hoping to get the SLA done.”
The IMF mission departed Islamabad last week after extensive discussions on the second review of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), both agreed in 2024 to stabilise the economy after a severe financial crisis.
Once approved by the Fund’s Executive Board, the staff-level agreement will unlock the next tranche of financing. The ongoing IMF programme, signed in September 2024, helped shore up Pakistan’s $370 billion economy, which was struggling with high inflation, currency depreciation, and external financing gaps.
Aurangzeb also revealed that Pakistan plans to launch its first green Panda bond, denominated in Chinese yuan, before year-end, and aims to return to international capital markets next year with a bond sale worth at least $1 billion.
“Euro, dollar, Sukuk, Islamic Sukuk — we’re keeping our options open,” he said.
The finance minister said the government’s privatisation drive — a core part of its economic reform agenda — was gaining momentum, with plans to sell three power distribution companies and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by the end of the fiscal year.
“We are quite hopeful,” he said, noting renewed investor interest after the reopening of PIA’s lucrative routes to Europe and the UK.
Officials said at least five domestic business groups, including Airblue, Lucky Cement, Arif Habib Group, and Fauji Fertiliser, have shown interest in bidding for the airline. The government expects final bids later this year, marking Pakistan’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.
During his Washington visit, Aurangzeb met Jihad Azour, IMF Director for the Middle East and Central Asia, and Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Senior Managing Director, to discuss Pakistan’s ongoing reforms and development priorities. He also held talks with Robert Kaproth, US Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Finance, and Jonathan Greenstein, Counselor to the Secretary, highlighting Pakistan’s improving economic fundamentals and a newly agreed US tariff framework to boost bilateral trade.
Aurangzeb also attended the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting, where he emphasised the need for coordinated action to build a resilient and prosperous Commonwealth.
