OREANDA-NEWS. To give the green light to a new credit programme for Belarus, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants the authorities to demonstrate firm and trustworthy commitments.

Head of the IMF mission in Belarus, David Hofman, made a statement to this effect at a press-conference in Minsk.

To start negotiating the terms of a new credit facility for Belarus, the IMF wants all branches of power in Belarus, including President Lukashenko’s Office to demonstrate firm commitments to an economic stimulus package, which would be approved by IMF member-states, Hofman said. The package is supposed to contain a harmonious alliance of stability-oriented macroeconomic policies and efforts to deepen structural reforms, Hofman informed.

Belarus has not yet addressed these two key elements, which is the reason why the IMF has not started negotiating a new credit programme so far, Hofman said.

At the same time, Hofman assured that the IMF will continue active cooperation with Belarus and sustain an active dialogue to provide economic policy guidance and technical assistance.

As previously reported, the IMF Executive Board on March 26, 2010 gave the green light to providing Belarus with the final fifth tranche of the USD 670m standby programme launched in January 2009.

The total volume of financial resources provided by the IMF within the framework of its standby programme for Belarus stands at USD 3.46 billion.

Plagued with financial and economic difficulties, Belarus would turn to the IMF for a new stand-by loan in May 2011. President Lukashenko would repeatedly challenge the IMF to abandon political bias regarding Belarus and then it would be possible to make a deal on a new credit programme “within a single day”.