(Bloomberg) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged to stay the course on structural reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund ahead of an IMF vote on a $1.1 billion loan tranche for his country.

Sharif told IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva his financial team has been directed to ensure strict fiscal discipline, his office said in a statement. He told Georgieva the government is “fully committed to put Pakistan’s economddy back on track” when they met during the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

The IMF’s Executive Board is scheduled to meet on Monday on the last installment of a $3 billion loan under a so-called standby agreement to help boost Pakistan’s foreign-exchange reserves and pave the way for Sharif’s government to seek another loan program.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said this month that Pakistan expects an IMF mission to visit in May and would like to reach a staff-level agreement on its next loan by the end of June or early July. While he didn’t specify an amount, Bloomberg has reported that Pakistan plans to ask for at least $6 billion. 

Sharif and Georgieva discussed the fresh loan that Pakistan says will consolidate economic gains and keep the trajectory of growth positive. Pakistan intends to seek at least a three-year program as its economy recovers from a 0.17% contraction last year.

 

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