Officials from Honduras and the International Monetary Fund hope to finalise a basic economic plan by the end of February which could set the stage for a standby financing arrangement, the IMF said on Friday.
"We stand ready to continue assisting Honduras in its efforts to sustain growth and alleviate poverty, and we thank the authorities for maintaining a close policy dialogue," said IMF Deputy Managing Director Murilo Portugal.
Officials reached basic agreement this month on key points of an economic program for 2008. Over the next few days more talks will take place with the aim of finalising an agreement and establishing a standby financing arrangement, which would then be considered by the IMF board in April, the IMF said.
The economic program aims to develop fiscal, monetary and external policy measures to address emerging macroeconomic imbalances. The program is based on an overall fiscal deficit of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product for 2008, which will provide room for an increase in public investment while keeping the public debt stable. Among other policies, the IMF said that monetary policy will be geared toward reducing inflation and increasing the level of international reserves.
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