Photo from UNIAN
Belarus has announced it is seeking a $3 billion loan over 10 years from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return for some economic reforms, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty has reported.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a government meeting in Minsk on December 1 that an IMF loan was the best option for Belarus, including a loan deal from close ally Russia, according to the report.
The president noted the IMF loans have an interest rate which is even lower than under the loans offered by Russia.
Lukashenko said that while holding talks with IMF officials he indicated that Belarus was open to a range of reforms.
"I didn't say no to them on any point," the president said.
"Not on the tariffs, not on [raising] the pension age, not on wages," he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on November 12, 2015, Belarus changed the classification of bank deposits based on presidential decree as of November 11 No. 7 "On Raising Funds for Deposits." According to the document, term and conditional bank deposit agreements will be divided into irrevocable and revocable ones.