Islamabad, May 24, 2025: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday has announced that it will continue discussions on Pakistan’s fiscal year 2026 (FY26) federal budget in the coming days, following the conclusion of a staff-level visit to Islamabad.
The Finance Ministry has announced that the Economic Survey FY2025, a detail report of the performance of various sectors of the economy for the outgoing fiscal year, will be released on June 9, a day before budget,
Led by IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter, the delegation arrived in the capital on May 19 to measure recent economic developments, program executions, and the government’s proposed budget strategy.
At the end of the visit, Porter said in an official statement, “We held constructive discussions with the authorities on their FY2026 budget proposals and broader economic policy, and reform agenda supported by the 2024 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the 2025 Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).”
“The authorities reaffirmed their commitment to fiscal consolidation while safeguarding social and priority expenditures, aiming for a primary surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP in FY2026,” the IMF official added.
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IMF said revenue strategies under discussions include improved compliance, expanding tax base, , while also ensuring prioritised public expenditures.
Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also examined reforms within the power sector to improving financial sustainability and reducing high costs. Discussions were also focused on broader structural reforms intended to encourage viable growth and level the business playing.
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Porter emphasised that the government is committed to “sound macroeconomic policy making,” adding “Maintaining an appropriately tight and data-dependent monetary policy remains a priority to ensure inflation is anchored within the central bank’s medium-term target range of 5–7 per cent,”
The statement further emphasized the importance of rebuilding foreign exchange reserves, maintaining a fully functioning foreign exchange market, and allowing greater flexibility in the exchange rate to improve external resilience.
The IMF acknowledged the warm hospitality and cooperation of federal and provincial authorities and confirmed that the next EFF and RSF review mission is expected in the second half of 2025.
