The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, currently on an official visit to Romania, met Romanian president Traian Basescu at the Cotroceni palace on Tuesday morning (July 16 ). The IMF delegation also includes Poul Thomsen, who was the IMF negotiator for Romania between 1996-1998. The delegation already met Prime Minister Victor Ponta and members of the Government (in picture).

Lagarde will stay in Romania until Wednesday, July 17, after which an IMF mission will come to Romania to discuss about a new financial agreement.

This June, Romania passed the seventh and eighth reviews, successfully completing the Standby Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund.

The completed Standby Arrangement was approved on March 25, 2011, and became effective on March 31, 2011. The agreement was due to finish at the end of March this year, but the IMF gave Romania an extra three months to meet outstanding objectives.

The total funds made available to Romania under the agreement are just short of EUR 3.6 billion. As through the Standby Arrangement, Romania is continuing to use the funds as a precautionary credit line, without drawing on them. The total amount from the IMF and the EU stands at EUR 5 billion.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: gov.ro)