IMF to visit Bucharest for review

A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Bucharest February 3-7, 2025, Geoff Gottlieb, IMF Senior Regional Representative for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, announced in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

"The Fund's team will meet with the representatives of the new Romanian Government and the National Bank of Romania to review recent economic and financial developments and update the macroeconomic outlook. The mission will be headed by Mr. Joong Shik Kang, who has replaced Mr. Jan Kees Martijn as Romania mission chief. Mr. Martijn has been assigned to a new post in line with the IMF's internal policies.'

Joong Shik Kang, a South Korean national, is currently the head of the IMF mission in Romania and Greece. Previously, he was Head of the IMF Mission in Hong Kong and Deputy Head of the IMF Mission in China. Previously, he was Assistant Director of the Asia and Pacific Department and Head of the IMF Mission to the Marshall Islands. He studied economics at the University of Seoul and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Currently, Romania does not have an ongoing financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund, but the financial institution annually assesses the evolution of the Romanian economy based on Article IV consultations.

The consultations are a supervisory exercise that is mandatory for all member states. The purpose of Article IV consultations is to examine the financial and economic situation at national level and to make general recommendations on monetary, financial and economic policies to be pursued in order to ensure stability and positive developments in the economy.