The Fiji Government has stressed it will take some time before an agreement can be reached with the International Monetary Fund on their request for a standby loan arrangement.

Permanent Secretary for National Planning Pita Wise said the first round of negotiations on a possible arrangement has been completed and no agreement was reached.  

Wise said the negotiations were focused on the preconditions and timeframes for structural reforms and stressed that an IMF team is due to visit the country in July to undertake further negotiations.  

However, Wise stressed it is very early to confirm an SBA will be agreed to since negotiations remain to be completed.  

He said this will take some time given that a thorough assessment will be undertaken on all preconditions and timeframes.

Following the recent IMF Staff Report on Fiji, Wise also stressed that it is too early to confirm the amount that will be required since the consultation and negotiations is ongoing.

Wise confirmed that the process of consultation and negotiation is progressing satisfactorily.

As a member of the IMF, Fiji is entitled to seek support from the IMF which is available through an SBA.  

Under the SBA, IMF assists member countries by providing balance of payments support.  

This arrangement does not provide any support to the government budget.