A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Serbian officials on Monday started talks on the last, seventh review of the stand-by arrangement, to focus on the further implementation of the stand-by deal.
Participants in the meeting, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic, and the IMF delegation headed by Albert Jegger, agreed that all previous reviews were successful and analysed indicators relating to the previous review, the Serbian government said in a statement.
PM Cvetkovic informed the IMF officials of the economic situation in Serbia, saying that talks were under way with representatives of public workers' unions and that the improvement of their financial status depended on the country's potential and on the agreed budgetary and economic policies.
During the IMF delegation's visit to Serbia, to last some ten days, further cooperation with the IMF will be discussed.
The IMF executive board on December 22 completed the sixth review of the stand-by arrangement with Serbia, after the Serbian government in late November reached an agreement with the IMF as part of the sixth review of the credit stand-by arrangement.
Completing the sixth review, the IMF board agreed that Serbia should draw a new loan installment in the amount of EUR 373 million. If Serbia draws the entire amount, total funds drawn within the arrangement will amount to some EUR 1.9 billion.
The IMF board of directors in mid-May 2009 approved a EUR 2.9 billion stand-by arrangement for Serbia after the IMF mission reached agreement to that effect with the Serbian government two months before.
The arrangement refers to the period up to April 2011.
