Press Release No. <a name="P16_75"></a>05/194

The following statement was issued today in Washington, D.C. by Mr. Guy Meredith, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission chief for the Dominican Republic:

"The IMF mission, which visited Santo Domingo during August 17-26, 2005, made important progress towards completing, at the staff level, the first and second reviews of the Dominican Republic's program supported by a Stand-By Arrangement from the IMF (see Press Release No. 05/18).

"Developments under the program remain favorable, and preliminary information suggests that the end-March and end-June 2005 quantitative performance criteria have been met with comfortable margins. The continued implementation of cautious fiscal and monetary policies has contributed to strengthening confidence, reducing inflation and lowering interest rates, while economic activity continues to improve. Progress has been made in the area of structural reforms, including in drafting legislation to enhance fiscal management and strengthen the structure of monetary and financial institutions.

"The authorities are expected to define in the coming days the fiscal policy framework for 2006, consistent with program objectives. Once this is in place, the authorities' Letter of Intent describing the government's policies will be reviewed by Fund staff and Management," Mr. Meredith said.