Business news

Belarus continues cooperation with IMF; new program possible with approaches reconciled

MINSK, 26 April (BelTA) - Belarus continues its ongoing cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. A new program with the fund is possible if the two parties reconcile the approaches, Dmitry Kalechits, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Belarus, told the media on the margins of the Digital Banking conference, BelTA learned.

“Our cooperation with the fund continues. That’s the kind of cooperation the IMF maintains with all countries. We exchange information on the development of the economic situation. The IMF mission on Belarus keeps close contact with our specialists, monitors the situation, shows where it sees the risks from the point of view of the development of the situation, and advises on the measures to be taken. We, in turn, tell them how things are in the economy, the risks we see. In other words,  there is a normal exchange of information in terms of how we see the development of the economy,” Dmitry Kalechits said.

According to him, no additional steps are planned in cooperation with the IMF at the moment. "We will see how the situation evolves. We have a large set of issues in terms of technical assistance. We will work with them in the area of monetary policy,” he added.

With regards of the new program with the IMF and a credit program, Dmitry Kalechits noted that these things can be under discussion but the procedure is a lengthy process. "We should discuss this issues, find points of convergence in the views on the development of the economy and understanding of risks, and also the measures to promote the development,” he noted.

Earlier, Belarus Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich reported that the talks with the IMF on a new credit program may be resumed in 2020-2021. A roadmap for structural reforms prepared together with the World Bank could be the basis for the new program.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks