Islamabad, Jan 12 (IANS): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that its Executive Board has completed the first review of Pakistan's economic reform program supported by the global lender's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), allowing for an immediate disbursement of about $700 million.

In an official statement, the IMF said that following the Board's decision, the total disbursements under the arrangement will get to around $1.9 billion, reports Xinhua news agency.

Pakistan's nine-month SBA was approved by the Executive Board in July last year, in the amount of about $3 billion at the time of approval, aimed to provide a policy anchor for addressing domestic and external balances and a framework for financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners, it said.

The economic activity has stabilised in Pakistan, although the outlook remains challenging and dependent on the implementation of sound policies, it added.

The current IMF programme is expected to conclude in the second week of April.

In November 2023, a Staff-Level Agreement was reached between the IMF staff and Pakistani authorities regarding the first review under the country’s SBA.

This agreement was contingent upon approval by the IMF’s Executive Board.