CURRENT AFFAIRS

CVETKOVIC CONFERS WITH IMF MISSION

BELGRADE, Feb. 06 (Tanjug) - Serbian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic conferred Monday with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) technical mission headed by Zuzana Murgasova.
The meeting focused on implementation of agreed fiscal policy measures, 2012 budget, macroeconomic framework for 2012, and numerous structural reforms recently carried out by Serbia.
In the days to come these issues will be discussed by the representatives of IMF and the Serbian Finance Ministry, the Government Media Relations Office reported.
Official talks between the IMF and Serbian representatives started Monday morning with a plenary meeting at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).
The talks aimed at reaching an agreement on the completion of the first review of results of the current standby arrangement began in Belgrade on February 2, and will last until February 9.
The arrangement approved to Serbia on September 29 amounting to EUR 1.1 billion (935.4 special drawing rights), was reached out of precaution, i.e. with no intention of using the funds except if need be.
As part of the current precautionary arrangement, the talks with IMF took place in Belgrade in November, and the decision on completion of the review was first to be made at a meeting of the IMF executive directors on December 23, but was postponed until the two parties' stands on the current fiscal policy converged.