IMF Mission to Arrive in Chisinau on Wednesday, January 28  

An International Monetary Fund mission led by Mr. David Owen, Deputy Chief of the Southern Division of the Fund’s European II Department and IMF Mission Chief for Moldova, will arrive in Chisinau on Wednesday, January 28, 1998, for a regularly scheduled quarterly visit.  The main tasks of the mission will be to review economic and financial performance through end-December under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement between the IMF and the Republic of Moldova and to continue discussions on economic policies and perspectives for 1998.  

The SDR 135 million (approximately US$185 million) EFF arrangement was approved by the Executive Board of the IMF in May 1996.  The second review of program performance under the EFF was completed by the Executive Board of the IMF on July 16, 1997, following which a disbursement of SDR 15 million (approximately US$20.4 million) was made.  This was the third and most recent tranche disbursement under the EFF program, following disbursements of SDR 11.25 million in May and September 1996, respectively.  Total financial support from the IMF to the Republic of Moldova, under the EFF program and earlier arrangements, amounts at present to nearly US$250 million. 

            Mark A. Horton
            IMF Resident Representative
            Chisinau, Moldova