Talks between Pakistan, IMF mission go virtual

ISLAMABAD: The ongoing talks between an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission and authorities in Islamabad had to be converted to virtual mode on Monday due to the regional situation following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel.

The IMF mission, led by Iva Petrova, had to immediately relocate to Istanbul following an advisory issued by the money lending agency’s headquarters, disrupting a series of sectoral meetings planned for the day.

The remaining schedule of meetings, however, will remain intact and will progress through video link between Islamabad and Istanbul.

“An IMF mission led by Iva Petrova has started discussions with the authorities in Karachi and Islamabad on the third review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement and the second review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Discussions will continue to be held virtually,” the Fund said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the two sides had a kick-off meeting presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. The two sides broadly touched upon the emerging regional security situation but were equally uncertain about how the crisis would play out and for how long. Monitoring Desk