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AMMAN — Jordan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will negotiate a new cooperation programme as the 36-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) ends in August.
Finance Ministry Secretary General Ezeddin Kanakriyeh was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying that the government will start negotiations with the IMF to reach an agreement on future cooperation in order to "sustain achievements made under the SBA".
The IMF-sponsored programme, Kanakriyeh said, has achieved positive results in the financial and monetary fields and the government wants to guarantee the sustainability of these achievements in the coming years, Petra reported.
The IMF has said on more than one occasion that it would be open to renewed cooperation with the Kingdom and expressed willingness to extend the SBA for Jordan if needed.
In May last year, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the international financial organisation was ready to extend the programme to offer the Kingdom technical assistance and financial support.
The SBA, which was approved by the IMF's executive board on August 3, 2012, granted Jordan an exceptional access of around $2 billion, representing 800 per cent of Jordan’s quota at the IMF.