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Senior officer of International Monetary Fund arrives in Minsk for loan talks

Juha Kahkonen, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s European Department, arrived in Minsk on November 8.

Mr. Kahkonen will participate in talks of the IMF's visiting mission about the possibility of issuing a big loan to Belarus.

The National Bank of Belarus requested a $2-billion stand-by loan from the IMF in October, saying that it was needed for replenishing the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves.

The mission arrived in Belarus in late October and was expected to wrap up its work on November 6 but has reviewed its plans and will hold more negotiations.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said after Belarus' had asked for the loan: "The global financial crisis has adversely affected the Belarusian economy and its access to external finance. At the same time, changing conditions in trade have negatively affected the country's balance of payments."

"The amount of Fund financing under a Stand-By Arrangement has yet to be determined," he said.

Belarus' international reserves dropped by $130.4 million year-on-year in the first 10 months of this year, according to the National Bank. //BelaPAN