Belarus will receive next tranche of EFSD loan only if it fulfills Fund's conditions
The Council of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development has approved the changes to the Reform Program for the Belarusian economy. Its implementation is a key condition for obtaining the last tranche of the loan. The agreement to receive a $ 2 billion loan was signed back in 2016. Belarus has already received six of the seven tranches of the fund’s loan, although with a significant delay.
According to a press release from the EFSD, the reason for the changes was the “shift in the implementation schedule of the Program’s measures in the frame of the first six tranches”.
The key date for assessing compliance with the conditions for receiving the last tranche was postponed from January 1, 2018 to December 1, 2019. The change of the loan expiration date to March 31 of the current year was also approved. That is, the deadline for submitting the last tranche is set for the first quarter of the current year.
The condition for obtaining a loan is new indicators in terms of international reserves, while monetary indicators were set at the level that contributes to keeping inflation at the end of last year within 6% (according to the results of 2018, it was 5.6%).
Among the conditions is the need to pass legislation and measures that affect the business environment, which has not been done to receive the sixth tranche.
