The talks between representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission and the Serbian government, which were launched Thursday and will last by February 9, will focus on implementation of the 2012 budget, agreed fiscal policy measures, and adherence to fiscal rules.

The current talks are to reach an agreement on completion of the first review of the stand-by arrangement (SBA) with Serbia, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) stated.

A plenary meeting between the representatives of Serbia and IMF headed by Zuzana Murgasova will be held in NBS on February 6.

During the mission's stay, the talks will address realization of the economic program goals agreed with the IMF, the 2012 macroeconomic framework, as well as fulfillment of criteria for December 2012, the statement reads.

As part of the first review of the SBA, the talks with IMF took place in Belgrade in November, although the decision on completion of the review was first to be made at a meeting of the IMF executive directors on December 23 but postponed until the two parties' stands on the fiscal policy for next year converged.

The arrangement approved to Serbia on September 29 amounting to EUR 1.1 billion (935.4 special drawing rights), was reached out of precaution, i.e. with no intention of using the funds except in case of the balance needs of the country.