Pakistan will chair the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in 2027. Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced this on Friday. The country will return to this state for the first time since 1953. According to a PTI report, the announcement was made during the plenary session of the 2026 WBG-IMF Annual Meeting in Bangkok. Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, who is also the country’s governor of the World Bank, was formally elected as the next chairman.

The ministry has termed this appointment as a historic milestone. With this responsibility according to him Pakistan It will provide an opportunity to guide global economic and development-related discussions and enhance constructive cooperation among member countries.

Big relief for debt-ridden Pakistan

More than 15,000 delegates from 191 countries participated in the annual meetings held from October 12 to 18. The appointment comes at a time when Pakistan is dependent on two IMF financial programs. These include the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

At the plenary session of the 2026 #IMFWBGMeetings2026 in Bangkok, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Governor WBG, Mr. @AhadKhanCheema1 was formally announced as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and the IMF.

— Ministry of Economic Affairs (@eadgop) October 16, 2026

The objective of the EFF is to meet Pakistan’s balance of payments needs and assist in economic reforms. At the same time, under the RSF, long-term financial support is provided to the country to address climate-related risks and build economic strength.

Pakistan can get big help from IMF

Apart from this, Pakistan can also get an additional amount of 1.2 billion dollars from the IMF. However, this requires the approval of the Executive Board of the IMF. This potential payment follows an agreement between IMF officials and the Pakistani administration regarding the recent review of both financial programs.