The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the first review of Pakistan's economic reform program supported by the IMF's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), allowing for an immediate disbursement of about 700 million U.S. dollars, the IMF said Thursday.

Following the Board's decision, the total disbursements under the arrangement get to around 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, the IMF said in a statement.

Pakistan's 9-month SBA was approved by the Executive Board in July last year, in the amount of about 3 billion U.S. dollars at the time of approval, aimed to provide a policy anchor for addressing domestic and external balances and a framework for financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners, said the statement.

The economic activity has stabilized in Pakistan, although the outlook remains challenging and dependent on the implementation of sound policies, it added.

(With UNI INputs)