IMF reaches staff-level agreement with Suriname on $53 million loan disbursement

PARAMARIBO (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Suriname, it said on Wednesday, on the third review of the country's loan program, allowing for a disbursement worth around $53 million.

The disbursement will be made once approved by the board, the IMF said, adding this would bring total disbursements under the loan program to around $212 million.

Measures implemented by Suriname's government - including fiscal discipline - are starting to bear fruit, IMF Suriname mission chief Anastasia Guscina said in a statement.

"Program performance during the third review was good, with most quantitative targets met," Guscina said.

"The authorities are on track to achieve a primary central government surplus of 1.7 percent of GDP this year, in line with program commitments," she added.

The IMF approved Suriname's three-year loan program in December 2021.

(Reporting by Ank Kuipers in Paramaribo and Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stephen Coates)