Finance Minister B.Choijilsuren says economy will worsen if the EFF is not approved
In an interview with News.mn, Finance Minister B.Choijilsuren warned that the economy will only worsen in the absence of the International Monetary Fund's extended fund facility (EFF), and said the program could potentially be approved in late April.
The Minister noted that the budget amendments required as part of the EFF have been drafted by the Finance Ministry and approved by Cabinet. However, he noted that a final draft of the amendments has not been presented to Parliament, due to certain intricacies in the budget that need to be sorted out before receiving a 5.5 billion USD financial aid package from several countries and international organizations. The final draft of the amendments will soon be presented to Parliament, and the EFF will be the first item on the agenda of Parliament’s spring session, said B.Choijilsuren.
When asked when the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Executive Board will discuss Mongolia’s EFF, he said that the spring conference of the IMF happens in mid-April. Discussion of Mongolia's EFF is likely to be pushed back to late April, before which, Parliament will likely discuss and approve the EFF's required budget amendments.
The Minister asked MPs to treat this issue economically and not politically. He noted that foreign investors and donor countries are watching Mongolia, and that the EFF staff-level agreement had a positive effect on Mongolia's international reputation.
B.Choijilsuren concluded the interview by saying that the economy will only worsen in the event of the EFF program not being implemented. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have promised to provide funding in the event that Mongolia is enrolled in an IMF program. If the EFF is not implemented, financing will become an issue, said the Minister.
“The credit rating of Mongolia might slide further, foreign investment won’t increase, and the fluctuation of the exchange rate will only increase,” added the Finance Minister.