Brasília, 16/6/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The First Deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Anne Krueger, praised Brazil for its handling of proposed tax and social security reforms, and the way the country has fulfilled performance criteria. According to Krueger, the result is that the IMF board has approved the third revision of last September's US$30 billion Brazil-IMF agreement. With the approval, Brazil can withdraw an additional US$9.3 billion from the IMF.

In a note, Krueger, in the name of the IMF, praised Brazil's strong commitment to economic stability based on fiscal and monetary restraint and the effort to improve the public debt situation. Krueger said that solid fiscal performance up to now indicates that the primary surplus target for 2003 will be reached and pro-active monetary policies to halt inflationary pressure has brought a continuous decline in monthly inflation rates.

The note concludes by saying that the ambitious reform agenda, if approved, ensures that the confidence built up over the last few months has laid a foundation for strong growth that is sustainable, characterized by social equitability and the reduction of fiscal imbalances. (AB)