IMF, World Bank and Commercial Loan Repayments: Finance Ministry Releases Payment Details

Pakistan’s Finance Ministry has released a detailed report on external payments, which mentions the amounts paid under various international institutions and bonds. According to the statement, the government has paid $1.56 billion under Naya Pakistan Certificates, of which only $94 million is interest. In addition, about $3 billion has been repaid under external commercial loans, which includes $327 million in interest. These figures show that the government is fulfilling all its international commitments.

The ministry stressed that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were less than one month of imports in the fiscal year 2022-23, which was a very critical situation. However, the reserves have been restabilised with the support of the IMF’s EFF programme and other international financial institutions. The statement said that the increase in interest rates in the global market has made external payments expensive for countries like Pakistan, but despite this, Pakistan’s average interest rate remains at a reasonable level of 4 percent.

According to the government, continuous steps are being taken to improve debt management. The Finance Ministry also clarified that it would not be correct to link the increase in interest payments only to borrowing, as global economic conditions and Federal Reserve policies also play an equal role in this. The government is determined to continue taking tough decisions for economic stability so that dependence on debt can be reduced in the future.