ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s finance minister said on Sunday he was “very confident” his country would secure a new funding programme from the International Monetary Fund after the cash-strapped country’s annual fiscal budget passed into law.

The budget comes ahead of more talks with the IMF for a loan of between $6 billion and $8 billion to avert a debt default by Pakistan, the slowest-growing economy in South Asia.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said at a press conference that his government would work on securing its next IMF programme to ensure economic stability.

“We are taking it forward; it is inevitable. I’m very optimistic that we’ll be able to take it through to the finish line for an Extended Fund Programme, which is going to be larger and longer in nature,” he said, according to local broadcaster Geo News.

Pakistan’s parliament on Friday passed the government’s tax-heavy finance bill for the coming fiscal year. In April Pakistan completed a short-term $3 billion programme, which helped stave off sovereign default.