IMF demands action from Belarus before loan talks start

IMF demands action from Belarus before loan talks start

Belarus should demonstrate its commitment to economic reforms with concrete measures before negotiations for a much-needed loan could start, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said here Monday.

Chris Jarvis, head of the IMF mission to Belarus, did not give a timetable for the negotiations, saying they would depend on the depth and speed of reforms initiated by Minsk.

Belarus had been asked by the IMF to reduce inflation by raising interest rates and to continue cutting government spending, Jarvis told a briefing.

Belarus has requested a loan of up to 8 billion U.S. dollars from the IMF in the wake of a balance of payments crisis earlier in the year. However, the IMF said the government had failed to present a sound economic program and it sent in a new mission to Minsk in October.

As the Belarusian ruble lost value, consumer prices soared nearly 80 percent in the first nine months of the year.

Editor: yan

English.news.cn 2011-10-18 00:08:57 FeedbackPrintRSS

MINSK, Oct. 17 (Xinhua)