OREANDA-NEWS. From 5 to 18 March a mission from the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, will be making its annual visit to Estonia to discuss the country's economic policy with representatives of the government and private businesses.

During their visit the members of the mission will be given an overview of the development and prospects of the Estonian economy, the state of the financial sector and fiscal policy developments.

The visit will last a week and a half and the IMF representatives will meet members of the government and the parliament, leaders and analysts from Eesti Pank and the Financial Supervision Authority, and managers and economists of the commercial banks and other companies, among others.

The outcome of the IMF visit will be presented by the head of the four-member mission team Alexander Hoffmaister on Monday 18 March at 13-14 at a press conference in the Eesti Pank museum, where he will be joined by the finance minister Jurgen Ligi and Eesti Pank Governor Ardo Hansson.

The IMF considers the main economic policy questions in all its member nations each year. The IMF's annual mission to Estonia, known as an Article IV Consultation, is followed by an IMF report assessing Estonia's economic policies.