Romania's president says next week will bring the news on the IMF loan length

Once the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wraps up the evaluation of Romania's economy and talks with the European and local experts come to an end, the exact length of the loan granted to the country will be made public, president Traian Basescu said.

Once the again the president refused to divulge the sum Romania is to borrow from the IMF, to avoid any media speculations later on when the value of the loan will be known.

"This accord I called a safety belt for Romanians could last one or two years," the chief of state said.

An IMF delegation is currently in Bucharest and along with representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the World Bank and local experts is drafting the terms of a financial aid for Romania.
 
Romania will not be asked to payback the loan in a year, but get a grace period of five to seven years, the president said. Romanian authorities should negotiate this grace period and return the money in installments, he added.

As for where the borrowed money will go, the president said the Cabinet will surely make the best decision about spending it and correctly manage the crisis period.

"I am optimistic," Basescu said. A loan from the IMF would not result into a social disaster, as some put it, but on the contrary, will help spare the people from a difficult situation and also contribute to the country's modernization, he added.

The Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea said earlier today, after talks with IMF officials, that he is considering an economic growth between -1 percent and 1.5 percent in 2009, but mentioned that Romania is still doing better than neighboring countries.

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