March 14 (SeeNews) - The executive board of the International Monetary FUnd (IMF) approved the disbursement of 79.2 million special drawing rights (SDRs), equivalent to about 100 million euro (106.4 million), to Kosovo under the country's stand-by agreement (SBA) with the fund, the IMF said.
The new tranche brings the total disbursements to SDR 135.4 million, or about 172 million euro, the fund said in a press release late on Monday.
The board also approved the authorities’ request for an extension of the current SBA to August 4, 2017 in order to "facilitate policy continuity and allow sufficient time for ongoing structural reforms to progress".
The IMF assessed positively the country's progress.
"Policy implementation has been laudable," it said, adding that maintaining the momentum through the end of the of the programme will help to lock in these gains in macroeconomic and financial stability.
The IMF said that the 2017 budget is in line with the programme's objectives and regarded as positive the shifting of the focus away from ineffective current spending and the planning of more capital investments.
The fund also said it supports the recent adoption of macroprudential policy framework, the improvements of the contract enforcement system, and the continuing enhancement of the transparency of the public procurement system.
IMF's executive board approved a 22-month SDR 147.5 million SBA for Kosovo in July 2015 supporting the government's economic program which seeks to increase Kosovo's economic potential by creating fiscal space for growth-enhancing expenditure, to preserve low debt, to upgrade key infrastructure, and to boost competitiveness.
($ = 0.9401 euro)