OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2012. Belarus hopes to embark on a new standby programme facilitated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich made a statement to that extent as he met with IMF mission leader David Hofman in Minsk.

“We believe that taking into account a lot of work that has been done Belarus can expect a new program with the IMF,” Myasnikovich said. “I think it will be reported to the executive directors and the political leadership of the fund,” he added.

At the same time, Myasnikovich admitted that there could be a shortage of first-hand information standing behind some of the conclusions made by the latest IMF mission.

“The conclusions are not totally objective. I think you had an opportunity to make sure that the government and the National Bank have been putting consistent efforts into stabilizing the economy,” Myasnikovich said.

The premier would update the IMF mission leader on the state of affairs on the currency market and the consumer market. “We have achieved a deficit-free budget and have secured a growth of the gold and foreign exchange reserves. At the same time we fully service the foreign debt and planned budget appropriations, Myasnikovich said.

Furthermore, Belarus has produced a sustainable foreign trade surplus, the premier said. “Although we are not happy about inflation growth, it is still within the limits set by the forecast,” premier said.

In the middle of October Belarus paid a fourth instalment of USD 99.4 million in settlement for the principal debt on the IMF standby loan. Belarus paid the first instalment of USD 99.8 million in settlement for the principal debt on the IMF standby loan in April 2012, with second instalment of USD 97.4 million paid in July 2012, and a third instalment of USD 84.3 million paid on October 1, 2012.

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.