KATHMANDU, June 6: The mission team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun on Thursday. The mission team led by Dr Tidiane Kinda, deputy division chief and mission chief for Nepal under the Asia and Pacific Department at IMF, called on Minister Pun at the ministry in Singha Durbar.
During the meeting, it was confirmed that Nepal will receive the fourth installment under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMF Executive Board approved a concessional loan of USD 398.8 million to Nepal under the ECF, scheduled over four years starting from mid-January 2022. The third installment has already been disbursed, with the final installment of Rs 5.59 billion (approximately USD 42 million) still pending.
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Before disbursing each installment of the ECF, the IMF reviews the previous commitments. The IMF mission visited Nepal for the same review. In the meeting, Minister Pun said that Nepal prioritizes economic stability, good governance and financial discipline. He thanked the IMF for supporting Nepal's economy and economic stability.
During the meeting with Minister Pun, Dr Kinda informed him that the remaining amount will be disbursed soon as the IMF Executive Board is in the process of completing the review of the ECF. He praised Nepal for making good progress in reforming finance and monetary policy and maintaining financial discipline.
The IMF has been providing financial assistance to various countries through the ECF in the areas of structural and policy reforms and medium-term balance of payments, internal revenue mobilization, public investment management and financial risk reduction. Nepal has been spending the loan received through the ECF under the heading of budgetary assistance.
