Romanian Govt Reshuffling Won’t Affect Disbursement Of New Loan Installment – IMF Official

The IMF official said Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc told him during a meeting on Friday that the reshuffling of the Cabinet would not determine changes in the policies the country adopted so far.

Franks said Romania's additional letter of intent on the stand-by agreement with the IMF will be forwarded to the IMF board in the second half of September.

Regarding a new loan agreement Romania might sign with the Fund, the IMF official reiterated that talks on this issue are premature at the moment.

Thursday evening, Boc officially announced that ministers Adriean Videanu (Economy), Sebastian Vladescu (Finance), Mihai Seitan (Labor), Mihail Dumitru (Agriculture), Gabriel Sandu (Communications) and Radu Berceanu (Transport) would be replaced with Ion Ariton, Gheorghe Ialomitianu, Ioan-Nelu Botis, Valeriu Tabara, Valerian Vreme and Anca Boagiu, respectively. Videanu, Berceanu, Seitan and Sandu resigned, while Dumitru and Vladescu were dismissed through presidential decrees. The new ministers were appointed Friday morning through presidential decrees and sworn in before the president, with the heads of Parliament and the remaining members of the Cabinet in attendance.

Romania and the IMF last year signed a EUR13 billion loan agreement, as part of a wider package which includes funds from the European Union, World Bank and other lenders.

Under the loan agreement, Romania pledged to reduce its budget deficit to 6.8% of the GDP this year, from 7.2% of GDP in 2009 and implement a series of fiscal and social measures to increase budget revenues and consolidate the country's economy.

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