The International Monetary Fund said on Monday, 19 October, that a team of experts will be in Chișinău from 21 to 28 October. The mission is led by Alina Iancu. The announcement was made by Svetlana Cerović, the IMF resident representative in Moldova. The visit has not started.

According to the statement, the experts will meet the authorities and other relevant parties. The purpose, in the Fund’s wording, is to take stock of recent economic developments and discuss the authorities’ economic policy priorities. It is not a published report and not a loan agreement.

MOLDPRES notes that such visits are periodic. They keep the conversation about macroeconomic stability going. Periodicity does not stand in for conclusions. Conclusions, if they come, come after the mission, not with Monday’s announcement.

The announcement does not say whether the team will negotiate a new programme. It also does not give the outcome of talks, because the talks have not begun. Anyone writing that the IMF approved a package on Monday is writing past the statement.

The calendar is short: two days from the announcement to the stated arrival. Until 21 October there is no stocktaking from this team. Three facts remain: the visit window, the mission chief’s name, the stated purpose. The rest is waiting.

Ziar.md and MOLDPRES stop there. They publish no list of conditions and no sum. The 21–28 October mission is a scheduled visit, not a completed review.

Image: APK, IMF headquarters in Washington, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the building, not the Chișinău meetings.

Sources consulted: A new IMF mission comes to Chișinău. Experts will review the economy and talk with the authorities - Ziar.md; An IMF mission will come to Chișinău on 21-28 October for talks with the authorities - MOLDPRES.