What IMF's boss visit leaves behind: prospects of a new agreement

President Traian Basescu yesterday discussed with IMF’s managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn about the possibility of a new financing agreement, this time as a preventive measure, given that Romania has borrowed a little more than 9 billion euros thus far as part of the 20 billion-euro financial arrangement decided last spring, which expires in 2011.
Strauss-Kahn was in Bucharest yesterday for a several-hour visit during which he met with all the Romanian officials from President to Prime Minister, MPs and the NBR governor, as well as with students from the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) of Bucharest.
Basescu stated very clearly that he was very pleased with the IMF agreement (where the institution contributes 12.9 billion euros) and that he wanted to continue working with the Fund.
“When we sign this new agreement we will most likely request an assistance stand-by arrangement or a flexible line of credit. We will see together what solution needs to be adopted for Romania, because it is clear that as long as we have an agreement in place with you, Romania is more credible,” Basescu told IMF’s managing director, who is a French socialist.
Strauss-Kahn replied prospects for cooperation were good, even with the minor fiscal “slippages”.