Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has announced that the new tranche of the loan program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be approved soon, saying that an tranche of about $1.3 billion is expected to be received from the IMF soon, while there is no need for an increase or change in the program.

Speaking to the international media in Washington, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that there is currently no need to increase or change the IMF program. If the economic situation weakens, then the IMF can be approached.

He also reiterated his commitment to repaying external debts and maintaining financial stability and said that Pakistan is considering all options for funding, work is underway on Eurobonds, Sukuk and commercial loans, and foreign exchange reserves are equivalent to about 2.8 months of imports.

He said that Pakistan is going to issue a Panda Bond of $250 million for the first time. The total volume of the Panda Bond program will be up to $1 billion, with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Remittances are expected to reach $41.5 billion in the current fiscal year, and the growth rate is expected to be around 4 percent this fiscal year.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the pressure on the economy has increased due to the increase in oil prices due to the Middle East war, Pakistan is also considering creating strategic petroleum reserves, he also stressed the need to increase LPG and fuel reserves and also indicated a rapid transition to renewable energy.

The Finance Minister also met with IMF Director in the United States Jihad Azhoor and the IMF mission team for Pakistan, in addition to this, he also met with the Deputy Under Secretary of the US Treasury, the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development, and the Chief Global Affairs of MasterCard.