MINSK, 22 May (BelTA) – Terms of the program with the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) have been fulfilled, BelTA learned from Belarusian Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich during the Council of Ministers session held on 22 May to discuss social and economic development results.
The official said: “We have all reasons to count on getting the seventh tranche of the EFSD loan since terms of the EFSD program have been fulfilled.”
In his words, rather profound work has been done with regard to structural changes in the economy. No risks to the budget execution are observed. The macroeconomic situation has been stabilized. Inflation is within the forecast parameters. “All these indicators mean that the measures stipulated by the government's action program and backed by the EFSD loan have produced an effect. The program has been fulfilled,” the finance minister believes.
Maksim Yermolovich said that this year Belarus' budget expects to get the seventh tranche (the final one) to the tune of $200 million as part of the Belarus-EFSD program and as much as $600 million from the Russian government. However, the Finance Ministry is working on other ways to raise funds, too. The home market is under consideration. Certain headway has been done into raising funds on the Chinese market. “We've signed a framework agreement with the China Development Bank. We are now trying to enable credit and investment cooperation, including broader credit cooperation such as the acquisition of untied financial resources from the China Development Bank,” he added.
BelTA reported earlier that in H1 2015 Belarus requested a loan to the tune of $3 billion from the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (now known as the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development). The initial sum of $3 billion was reduced to $2 billion after negotiations. Belarus is supposed to receive the money in seven tranches.
