Lyulin Stamenov/Sofia Echo
Bulgaria's Finance Minister Muravei Radev
(right) spoke about the importance
of IMF involvement in Bulgaria
after talks with Johannes Wijnholds,
IMF executive director for
Bulgaria, on Tuesday.
Bulgaria might receive the 12th and final tranche of its three-year agreement with the International Monetary Fund before the initially scheduled date.
“Bulgaria has fulfilled all quantitative criteria with the IMF as of the end of March, and will receive the last SDR 52.3 million tranche in mid-May,” announced Johannes Wijnholds, IMF executive director for Bulgaria, during a two day visit to Sofia this week. The tranche, which amounts at approximately $60 million, was initially scheduled for June.
Bulgaria has received some $850 million as result of the IMF agreement, which was signed in September 1998.
Finance Minister Muravei Radev and Wijnholds expressed a willingness to continue to work together. “We discussed plans for future co-operation,” Radev said after the meeting. “The process of co-operation will be carried on if Bulgaria’s economy continues to develop in the same direction and with the same speed.”
The finance minister pointed out that the fund’s presence in the country was very important since it provided a guarantee and a quality stamp for the economic reforms. He added that the nature of any new arrangement with the fund, as well as that with the World Bank, would depend on the new government and its policies.
Wijnholds said that he expected Bulgaria to continue heading in the right direction and concentrate its efforts on future membership in the European Union. He assessed the three-year agreement as successful, adding that Bulgaria continues to remain in a very stable state despite the constant conflicts in the region and the escalation of violence in Macedonia.
Wijnholds has headed the IMF Netherlands Constituency Group since September 1994. Besides Bulgaria and the Netherlands, the group also includes Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.
The newly elected mission head of the International Monetary Fund for Bulgaria Jerald Schiff is expected to make his first visit to the country in July. At that time the IMF should begin discussions with the new authorities about a new financial agreement.
Bulgaria’s former IMF mission head, Juha Kakonen, was appointed to head the fund’s mission in Turkey this month.
According to Wijnholds, Kakonen has achieved a significant success in Bulgaria and his task in Turkey will be even more difficult given the deep financial crisis there.
“Bulgaria has fulfilled all quantitative criteria with the IMF as of the end of March, and will receive the last SDR 52.3 million tranche in mid-May,” announced Johannes Wijnholds, IMF executive director for Bulgaria, during a two day visit to Sofia this week. The tranche, which amounts at approximately $60 million, was initially scheduled for June.
Bulgaria has received some $850 million as result of the IMF agreement, which was signed in September 1998.
Finance Minister Muravei Radev and Wijnholds expressed a willingness to continue to work together. “We discussed plans for future co-operation,” Radev said after the meeting. “The process of co-operation will be carried on if Bulgaria’s economy continues to develop in the same direction and with the same speed.”
The finance minister pointed out that the fund’s presence in the country was very important since it provided a guarantee and a quality stamp for the economic reforms. He added that the nature of any new arrangement with the fund, as well as that with the World Bank, would depend on the new government and its policies.
Wijnholds said that he expected Bulgaria to continue heading in the right direction and concentrate its efforts on future membership in the European Union. He assessed the three-year agreement as successful, adding that Bulgaria continues to remain in a very stable state despite the constant conflicts in the region and the escalation of violence in Macedonia.
Wijnholds has headed the IMF Netherlands Constituency Group since September 1994. Besides Bulgaria and the Netherlands, the group also includes Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.
The newly elected mission head of the International Monetary Fund for Bulgaria Jerald Schiff is expected to make his first visit to the country in July. At that time the IMF should begin discussions with the new authorities about a new financial agreement.
Bulgaria’s former IMF mission head, Juha Kakonen, was appointed to head the fund’s mission in Turkey this month.
According to Wijnholds, Kakonen has achieved a significant success in Bulgaria and his task in Turkey will be even more difficult given the deep financial crisis there.
