26 April 2004 18:28
RUSSIA: CIS COUNTRIES – IMF, EBRD, WORLD BANK ISSUES NEW REPORT
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
and the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) are releasing a joint review of recent trends and developments in the seven
low-income countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The report focuses on growth and poverty, debt and
fiscal sustainability, governance and the business climate, and regional cooperation. It also describes donor activities
in support of reforms in these areas. In early 2001, the staffs of the IMF and World Bank, in consultation with the AsDB
and EBRD, issued a report on the external debt and fiscal sustainability situations in CIS countries eligible for
concessional funding from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). The report examined the causes
and consequences of the large external debt incurred by Armenia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova and Tajikistan
since 1991 and concluded that they faced a difficult fiscal and external outlook in the coming decade. While massive
external shocks and inadequate policy responses, combined with an overestimation of debt carrying capacity by lenders
(including IFIs), had contributed to this situation, corruption and poor governance, lack of policy ownership, and weak
implementation capacity had exacerbated the problem. The report urged a strengthening of adjustment and reform efforts,
coupled with increased concessional assistance and debt relief. The report attracted considerable interest from the
international community and led to calls for a broader examination of the transition challenges facing these
countries.
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