Washington, 10 September 1997 (RFE/RL) - Sources at the International Monetary Fund say that Latvian and IMF officials have reached agreement on a new stand-by loan which Riga does not intend to draw.
Latvia, among several more advanced countries in transition, had a 15-month stand-by loan of over $40 million which it took out in May 1996 to take advantage of an IMF economic stabilization and reform program. Latvian officials said they never intended to use the money and told the IMF they do not expect to draw on the new loan, which is for about $24 million.
The loan program must still be approved by the fund's board of executive directors to be finalized.