Brasília, November 15, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The 2003 budget, currently in Congress, is the biggest concern of the International Monetary Fund mission that is visiting the country, says the Budget secretary, Helio Tollini. He made his remark after a two-hour meeting with ten members of the IMF mission. The talks included reports on the impact of expenditures linked to the dollar and its effect on revenue.

Both Tollini and Jorge Marquez-Ruarte, who heads the IMF mission, said the meeting was positive, especially the explanations concerning the decision to move the end of fiscal year 2002 to December 15, which involved a series of measures announced by minister Guilherme Dias, of Planning, Budget and Management. (AB)