An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, headed by Mr Albert Jaeger, will be staying in Belgrade till 2 November 2010 for the sixth quarterly review of Serbia’s performance under the current Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

In the forthcoming talks with Serbian authorities, the IMF mission will review the latest macroeconomic developments and the implementation of the performance criteria agreed for end-September 2010. Within issues relating to the pursuance of economic policy in the coming period, a special focus will be placed on the 2010 supplementary budget and the fiscal framework for 2011.

Official negotiations between Serbian authorities and the IMF mission will open with a plenary meeting at the National Bank of Serbia on 25 October 2010. In addition to Governor Dejan Šoškić, Serbia’s representative to the IMF, the meeting will also be attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Mlađan Dinkić and Jovan Krkobabić, Finance Minister Diana Dragutinović and President of the NBS Council of the Governor Boško Živković.

Following the positive assessment of Serbia’s performance in implementing the agreed economic programme, Serbia has so far drawn around EUR 1.45 billion of the total amount approved under the SBA (EUR 2.9 billion) in support of its external reserve position.