OREANDA-NEWS. November 30, 2009. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission and the Belarusian authorities have reached agreement, subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, on the completion of the third review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with Belarus, mission head Chris Jarvis said in a statement.

“The third review would be considered by the IMF Executive Board in late December. Upon completion of the review, an amount of SDR 437.93 million (close to USD 700 million) would become available for disbursement.”

“Performance under the economic program supported by the SBA has been good. All end-September performance criteria and structural benchmarks were met. The agreement reached on the macroeconomic framework for 2010 would help achieving program objectives. Prudent fiscal and monetary policies would narrow the current account deficit and bring inflation to single digits. Monetary policy would continue to support the credibility of the exchange rate regime. Disciplined wage policy would improve Belarus’ competitiveness and prospects for economic growth, as the global economy returns to growth. Social policies aim at providing adequate social safety to the most vulnerable groups of population.”

“The mission and the authorities also discussed the issues that would strengthen the financial system and the independence of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus. Consultations on the focus and the sequence of structural reforms could form the basis for a follow-up program after the expiration of the current program in April 2010.”

The original 15-month SBA was approved on January 12, 2009. Financial support was subsequently increased to SDR 2.27 billion (about USD 3.63 billion) on June 29, 2009.