October 3 (SeeNews) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will arrive in Albania on October 31 for a fourth review of the current financial agreement with the Balkan country, the fund said.
The mission is scheduled to end on November 13, the IMF said in a statement. The fund's executive board will discuss the mission's conclusions in January.
In January the IMF approved a three-year loan deal to Albania under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) amounting to the equivalent of 17.05 million special drawing rights (SDR) ($26.58 million/18.77 million euro). The loan deal aims to support the government's programme of economic reform, to reduce economic vulnerabilities, enhance growth potential, strengthen government solvency, protect priority spending, improve governance, and further develop the financial system. The IMF's previous three-year funding arrangement for Albania, amounting to 28 million SDR, expired on November 20, 2005.
Under its latest three-year programme with Albania the IMF has already disbursed 9.7 million SDR.
(1 SDR= $1.5552/1.097 euro)