Cyprus Minister of Finance Hars Georgiades will meet IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and US Deputy Treasury Secretary on the sidelines of the Spring IMF-World Bank meetings taking on April 15-17 in Washington DC.
Georgiades` meetings with high ranking officials will mark Cyprus` exit from its three-year ecoming adjustment programme. Cyprus officially concluded its bailout after receiving €7.3 billion from the total €10 billion earmarked in the EU/IMF funded bailout.
“These meetings mark the first high level contacts following the completion of the programme,” Georgiades told CNA.
While in Washington, Georgiades will hold separate contacts with Lagarde and Poul Thomsen, Director of the IMF`s European department. He will also meet with representatives of investment banks and rating agencies
“The message to be conveyed is that we remain focused on promoting reforms and fiscal consolidation,” Georgiades told CNA.
He is also scheduled to meet with US Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Finance Ramin Toloui.
Georgiades will discuss the financial impacts of a settlement that would reunify Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion and will also brief the US senior treasury officials on Cyprus` tangible progress on issues associated with transparency.
The Cypriot delegation to the Spring IMF-World Bank meetings will comprise Chrystalla Georghadji, Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus and other MinFin and CBC senior officials.