'Pakistan needs to mobilise tax revenue, cut debt': IMF acting director after meeting PM

Published July 22, 2019
Prime Minister Imran Khan met with the acting director of the IMF David Lipton on Sunday. — Photo courtesy David Lipton Twitter
Prime Minister Imran Khan met with the acting director of the IMF David Lipton on Sunday. — Photo courtesy David Lipton Twitter

Pakistan needs to mobilise domestic tax revenue to ensure funds for social and development programs, while reducing debt, the acting director of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday after a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Washington DC.

The two officials discussed recent economic developments and the implementation of Pakistan's IMF-supported economic reforms, which are aimed at stabilising the economy, strengthening institutions and paving the way for sustainable and balanced growth, David Lipton said in a statement.

Lipton said the IMF and other international partners were working closely with the Pakistani government to support implementation of the reforms.

"I highlighted the need to mobilise domestic tax revenue now and on into the future to provide reliably for needed social and development spending, while placing debt on a firm downward trend," Lipton said in a statement after the meeting.

The premier also met with the World Bank President David Malpass.

In a post shared on Twitter, Malpass said that they discussed PM Imran's "important ideas on transformational policies to accelerate equitable growth and job creation for Pakistanis".

Prime Minister Imran, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, is due to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday (today). Trump is likely to press Prime Minister Imran for help on ending the war in Afghanistan and fighting militants.

Last year, Trump cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance to Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of offering "nothing but lies and deceit" while giving safe haven to terrorists, a charge angrily rejected by Islamabad.

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