OREANDA-NEWS. September 26, 2011. President of Latvia Andris Berzins is on a visit to the United States this week, and his first official visit was with the executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, at IMF headquarters in Washington. Present for the meeting was Latvian Finance Minister Andris Vilks, as well as representatives from the IMF, including the head of the IMF mission in Latvia, Mark Griffith.
 
At the start of the meeting, Ms Lagarde expressed great commendation and amazement about the fact that Latvia, as a small country, has had outstanding dedication in terms of fulfilling obligations toward international lenders, successfully overcoming the economic crisis and implementing the lending programme. She said that the IMF hopes to organise a multilateral conference in Latvia at the end of this year to analyse these experiences. President Berzins expressed support for such an event, saying that it would also represent public recognition of what our country has achieved.
 
The President went on to inform the IMF officials about the political situation in Latvia, speaking about the dissolution of Parliament in a referendum and the subsequent snap election that was held on September 17. The President said that irrespective of the next coalition, his views about those who put together the government will be the same – international obligations must be fulfilled completely, the lending programme must be completed at the end of this year, and the 2012 national budget must have a budget deficit of 2.5% of GDP.
 
“Our goals have not changed, and I do not think that the parliamentary election which just took place represents any threats against their implementation,” said the President. Mr Berzins also said that Latvia’s aim of achieving a balanced budget in the near future so that it can join the euro zone has not lost any of its importance.
 
In terms of how the quality of Latvia’s public sector has been improved, President Berzins called for a review of the wages of those who are in the public sector so as to allow the directors of government institutions to raise the wages of staff without increasing the total amount of money that is spent on salaries. The aim would be to halt the flow of qualified workers to the private sector, as well as to establish a small and effective system of national governance.
 
At the conclusion of the meeting, Christine Lagarde asked the Latvian officials about the key to Latvia’s achievement. She was told that the achievement is based on targeted and ongoing dialogue between the government on the one hand and society and the government’s social partners on the other. Also important, the Latvian officials said, is that the people of Latvia are tolerant and understanding toward the need to implement reforms in the country and to bring greater order to its financial system.