IMF grants additional $33m to Moldova

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 33.1 million disbursement to Moldova, mean to increase the reserves of the National Bank. This fact was announced by the IMF Mission Chief to Moldova Thomas Richardson during a video-conference with Moldovan PM Vasile Tarlev on Friday, July 13. According to the press release of the Government, Thomas Richardson said that the programme will contribute to the macroeconomic stability of Moldova and its economic growth. The same source informs that the IMF official congratulated the leadership of Moldova for the obtained results, qualifying the decision of the Executive Board a consequence of the good cooperation between the Government of Moldova and the IMF. Richardson said that it will be possible to discuss in detail the obtained results during his visit to Chisinau in September, when he will introduce the new IMF Mission Chief to Moldova, Graeme Justice. A press release made public also on Friday by the Office of the IMF Resident Representative in Chisinau confirms the fact that Graeme Justice will replace Thomas Richardson as IMF Mission Chief to Moldova. He is expected to start his activity at the end of July and will head the next mission of the IMF staff scheduled for September, 2007. Graeme Justice is a British citizen, has extensive experience in the Fund, including as the IMF resident representative in Ukraine and Romania, and most recently as the mission chief for Montenegro. He has also worked in transition economies and Latin American countries and was the desk economist for Brazil during the economic crisis. Also, Graeme Justice was the IMF representative on the team that has put together the Millennium Development Goals.