The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has approved the disbursement of $184.6 million to Bosnia and Herzegovina following an assessment of the progress made in implementing the stand-by arrangement agreement reached with the country last year, local media in Bosnia and Herzegovina reported on Friday.
The IMF Executive Board, during its meeting in Washington on Thursday, positively evaluated the efforts made by Bosnia and Herzegovina to stabilize its financial system and reduce public spending. According to the IMF, the Executive Board of the monetary institution, led by Murillo Portugal, believes that Bosnia and Herzegovina has made every effort to ensure that existing funds from public sources are used more rationally and that social benefits truly reach those who need them the most. Bosnia and Herzegovina has received a total of $461.4 million from the IMF under the three-year stand-by arrangement so far. The IMF is requesting the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take measures to significantly limit expenditures for social needs and to control public spending. These demands have faced significant opposition from vulnerable categories of the population, particularly from demobilized veterans and pensioners. (H)
