IMF team in town to assess economic reforms

AMMAN – A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by mission chief Kristina Kostial is due to carry out a review of economic reforms in Amman Sunday.

The IMF executives are scheduled to meet with Finance Ministry and Central Bank of Jordan officials to discuss the Kingdom's economic and fiscal performance under a three-year programme supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), a government official said Saturday. 

Finance Ministry Secretary General Ezeddin Kanakriyeh told The Jordan Times over the phone that an IMF staff team, which has been in Amman for days, has met with various government entities and MPs to discuss economic developments and government's planned policies for the remainder of the year and for 2015. 

Kanakriyeh said the discussions are part of the fifth review of Jordan's performance under the SBA, adding that discussions may take 10 days. 

On April 28, 2014, the executive board of the IMF completed the third and fourth reviews of Jordan’s performance under the three-year SBA.  

The 36-month SBA (amounting to about $2 billion, or 800 per cent of Jordan’s quota at the IMF) was approved by the IMF’s executive board on August 3, 2012. 

The completion of the third and fourth reviews enabled Jordan to benefit from the immediate release of about $264.7 million, bringing total disbursements under the programme to $1.3 billion.

Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the executive board.