IMF asks for Albania’s invitation to stay longer

TIRANA, Sept. 27 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week it would remain in the country if Albania would invite it to stay longer.
There have been signals from the Albanian government recently it would not like to renew the IMF’s presence in the country next year after its mandate expired.
“If the Albanian authorities are interested, the Fund stands ready to discuss some other type of arrangement once the current program expires,” IMF resident representative Ann-Margret Westin said in a statement.
The IMF has monitored the Albanian economy since 1990.
The IMF said it could discuss any request from Albania either during its annual meetings in Washington in mid-October or the final review of its mission in Tirana in early November
The Albanian opposition accused the government of arrogance and irresponsibility for refusing to sign a new deal with the IMF because it wanted to spend freely during the next election year.
“Such a program would still focus on maintaining macroeconomic stability but would contain less program conditionality on structural reforms and may or may not include access to Fund financing,” the IMF said.
The IMF’s current three-year programme with Albania, worth $27.9 million and supported by the combined Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF), will expire in January if its final review ends on time.
The IMF assessment has served as the benchmark for the flow of private and donor money to Europe’s second poorest country.
The IMF said Albania’s growth would be at around six percent in 2008 and 2009 and inflation within the central bank’s 2-4 percent target range.
Finance Minister Ridvan Bode said last week the government had not yet discussed whether they would invite the IMF again.
The current IMF program is the 6th program that Albania has with the Fund, and the 4th long-term program. Since its inception, it was expected that this should be Albania’s last PRGF arrangement, which is aimed for the poorest countries, said the IMF.
“As in all countries that we work with, the request for another Fund arrangement comes from the authorities.”