Belarus is interested in the new program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich said in the course of the negotiations with David Hoffman, head of the IMF Mission in the Republic of Belarus.
“I would like to talk about further steps, including the next program which we previously discussed with Mr Jarvis,” state-owned news agency BelTA quotes Mikhail Myasnikovich as saying. He also noted that last year Belarus did not receive the adequate support it was seeking from the IMF. “In the past difficult year we relied on our own forces, primarily the competitiveness of the economy, the stability of civil society and a coherent and responsible effort on the part of the authorities,” he stressed.
The Belarusian Prime Minister invited MFA representatives to discuss further steps which “would be in the interests of the national economy of Belarus and at the same time take into account global economy processes.”
“We also believe that the IMF and other financial institutions should provide its member states with objective and relevant projections on medium-term development of global and regional economies and possible steps that should be taken in this difficult time,” the Prime Minister said. There are no relevant recommendations on these issues. “This is bad. We have to use different random facts. I mean the global economy, the processes taking place in the euro zone,” he added.
In turn, David Hofman, the Deputy Chief of the North-Eastern Division of the IMF European Department, noted that he hopes to continue good relations with Belarus. “This mission is a mission of business transfer, which gives a possibility to Mr Jarvis to introduce me to the authorities of Belarus. We have been here for two days holding meetings, and I will stay here until Monday inclusive,” he said. According to David Hofman, the current visit is a preparatory one meant to collect information for a larger mission for the third the post-program monitoring to be held in October, BelTA reports.
Belsat
