The Dominican government announced last evening that it had reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), although the exact terms still had to be reviewed by the IMF’s directorate and management. As reported in Hoy newspaper, the new Stand By Accord (SBA) will last for two years and provide nearly US$1 billion to bolster the Dominican economy. Technical Minister of the Presidency Temistocles Montas and Presidential Economic Advisor Julio Ortega Tous gave out the information during a press conference at the Presidential Palace last night. The SBA will focus on fiscal policy, outside financing, monetary policy, a strengthening of the banking sector, and the development of a strategy to solve the energy crisis. Montas told the reporters that, as executive secretary of the National Development Council, he has convened a meeting of the council for Friday in order to review the 2005 Budget, which will be devised based on the IMF agreement.
From Washington, Steven Phillips, the mission chief for the team of IMF negotiators in Santo Domingo, told the press that the organization “had arrived at a broad-reaching agreement with the Dominican authorities.” He mentioned that much of the new accord centred on better supervision of the banking community, as well as a rationalization of government spending.