The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a two-year stand-by arrangement for Romania worth about $367 million.
Romania does not intend to draw funds from the arrangement, which it is treating as precautionary, the IMF said.
The new deal is seen as crucial for the Balkan state's financial discipline ahead of European Union accession as early as 2007. Romania's previous IMF stand-by arrangement worth about $440 million expired in October 2003.
The IMF accord will reinforce Bucharest's plans to cut its budget deficit, curb inflation and speed up privatisation and restructuring plans, the fund said.
"The Romanian authorities are to be commended for their sound macroeconomic policies and progress in structural reforms," IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger said.
Krueger added Romania's reform program, backed by the IMF deal, "aims at strengthening the external current account balance, further reducing inflation, sustaining rapid GDP growth, and preparing the economy for EU accession."
Bucharest has promised to slash its 2004 budget deficit to 2.1 percent of GDP from an initial 3 percent target. It has also pledged to tackle its inflation rate, one of the highest in the region.
The IMF also noted Bucharest's commitment to privatise its national oil company SNP Petrom, the largest company in the country, as part of efforts to revamp its loss-making energy sector.
Romania will also seek to restructure the country's mining and railway sectors under the arrangement, the IMF said.