An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Steven Barnett, visited Ulaanbaatar during February 3-10, 2010, to hold discussions with the Mongolian authorities of the fourth review of the country’s Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The SDR 153.3 million (about US$236 million) SBA was approved by IMF Executive Board on April 1, 2009 (see Press Release No. 09/110). At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Barnett made the following statement:

“The IMF mission today reached a staff-level agreement with the Mongolian authorities on the conclusion of the fourth review under the SBA on the basis of the authorities’ continuing strong policy performance. IMF Executive Board is expected to consider the fourth review in the coming weeks. If the Board approves the completion of the review, the next disbursement under the program would be released to Mongolia in an amount of SDR 15.33 million (about US$24 million).