OREANDA-NEWS. On 15 June 2009 was announced, that a mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Belarus for pursuing an efficient economic policy; Belarus will soon receive the next loan tranche, amounting to U.S. USD 400 million, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky told reporters.

“IMF experts and the Belarusian government monitor the situation in Belarus on a monthly basis. Their reports were excellent, and we believe we will receive the next USD 400 million tranche in no time,” Sidorsky said.

“Would IMF lend to an inefficient economy? I guess not,” Sidorsky said, commenting on Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin’s remarks about the inefficiency of the Belarusian economic policy.

Sidorsky noted that Russia saw a slump in GDP since early 2009, while Belarus’ gross domestic product increased 1.2% in the first quarter of 2009.

“This means the Belarusian economy is much more efficient than the Russian economy,” the premier said.