(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan secured a $6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund designed to help the South Asian nation avert an economic crisis.

The lender’s executive board will meet to approve Pakistan’s request for the 39-month loan, “subject to the timely implementation of prior actions and confirmation of international partners’ financial commitments,” IMF’s mission chief Ernesto Ramirez Rigo said in a statement.

The loan would represent the 13th bailout since the late 1980s from the IMF to Pakistan, which is facing a balance-of-payments crisis triggered by high fiscal and current-account deficits and dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The pact was reached after Prime Minister Imran Khan overhauled his economic team, including the installation of Reza Baqir, who previously served in senior positions at the IMF, as the central bank governor.

“This bailout package should be a positive in the medium to long run, provided the reform agenda is religiously pursued," said Khurram Schehzad, chief executive of financial advisory firm Alpha Beta Core.

Rigo noted the efforts to stabilize the nation’s economy but said more needs to be done.

“Decisive policies and reforms, together with significant external financing are necessary to reduce vulnerabilities faster, increase confidence, and put the economy back on a sustainable growth path,” he said.

The crisis prompted rating companies to downgrade Pakistan’s credit score, triggering an 18% slide in the nation’s currency and pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index of stocks to near the lowest level in almost three years.

Prime Minister Khan has faced massive criticism from economists and the opposition parties for delaying the loan and mishandling the economy. Khan had said the loan program was delayed as he set about securing $3 billion of loans each from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China.

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