Pakistan, Sept. 24 -- The International Monetary Fund has begun talks with Pakistan on reviews of its $7 billion economic program and separate $1.4 billion climate resilience facility, its resident representative told Arab News on Wednesday, potentially paving the way for further funding.

The fourth review of the main program and third review of the climate arrangement will assess Pakistan's progress against commitments made to the lender. A successful review could make roughly $1 billion available under the economic program and $200 million under the climate facility but any release would require agreement with IMF staff followed by approval from the lender's executive board.

"An IMF team led by Ms. Iva Petrova has started discussions ...