Romania will return to economic growth in 2011, most likely of around 1.5 percent, representatives of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday, following media estimations that the country would remain mired in recession for the third consecutive year.  Jeffrey Franks, head of the IMF mission to Bucharest (in picture, right), said the media reports were incorrect and the Fund doesn't forecast an economic decline for next year.

Romania was hit hard by the global downturn in 2009, recording an economic decline of 7.1 percent. For this year, the IMF estimates a contraction of around 1.9 percent, followed by growth of 1.5 percent in 2010.

Mediafax