An official staff visit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Belarus is scheduled for 21-30 June.
“An IMF mission led by Peter Dohlman will visit Belarus from 21 to 30 June to assess the current economic policy and hold annual consultations with authorities under Article IV. The program of the visit includes meetings with government officials, representatives of the central bank, the private sector, the academic community, and professional organizations,” representatives of the IMF Office told state-run news agency BelTA.
In September 2015, Belarus’ cooperation prospects with the IMF, including a possible new cooperation program, were discussed at a meeting between president Alyaksandr Lukashenka and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. The Belarusian president wanted the new program to be based on a ‘balanced approach’ so that it could take into account the ‘interests of the country and its policy’ and ensure a ‘high level of social security of its people’.
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Previously, an IMF mission visited Minsk in November 2015. During the visit, Lukashenka told mission chief Peter Dohlman that Belarus will never abandon the social state scheme.
“The state is not about to break down the social state scheme whether the International Monetary Fund likes it or not,” he stressed.
In December 2015, Belarusian prime Minister Andrey Kabyakou expressed readiness to discuss terms and conditions of $3 bn new loan program for 10 years.
At that, in April 2016 the Belarusian leader promised to eliminate all obstacles to stimulate the inflow of investments of international financial organizations to the Belarusian economy.
Belarus has been an IMF member since 1992.
Read also: Negotiations with IMF stall. Government to negotiate loan remotely
