The Fund's executive board also approved Bolivia's request for waivers of the non-observance of certain performance criteria and of the applicability, until 17 July, of quantitative performance criteria for end-June 2003.
The IMF's first deputy managing director, Anne Krueger, said, 'Performance under Bolivia's economic programme supported by the standby arrangement so far has been encouraging. Despite the difficult political and social environment, the economic situation remains under control, there are some signs of recovery in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, bank deposits are almost back to end-2002 levels, and inflation remains subdued.' She also noted, 'Effective utilisation of Bolivia's abundant natural gas resources is crucial to ensure favourable longer-term growth prospects. The government is working to develop public support for proceeding with the LNG export project in a way that maximises the project's contribution to realising Bolivia's growth potential.'
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