A Mission of the International Monetary Fund, headed by Mr. Hans Flickenschild, started its two-week visit to Croatia with a meeting at the Croatian National Bank. The Mission is visiting Croatia for the purpose of conducting regular annual consultations set forth in the Article IV of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund. Article IV obliges every member country to cooperation with the Fund and other member countries, which also includes annual discussions about current economic developments. During their stay in Croatia members of the IMF Mission will meet with officials of the Croatian Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Tourism, State Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Rehabilitation, Croatian Chamber of Commerce, as well as with representatives of a number of large Croatian banks. The IMF Mission will further meet with officials of some government bodies, representatives of international financial institutions in Croatia, as well as with representatives of leading Croatian public enterprises to be privatized in the coming period.

In the introductory meeting with Relja Martic, Vice Governor of the Croatian National Bank, members of the IMF Mission were briefed on current economic and financial developments in Croatian economy, informed about the guidelines for monetary policy in the coming period, as well as about efforts being made to consolidate effectively the Croatian banking system.