MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Treasurer and Minister for Foreign Affairs
The Treasurer and the Minister for Foreign Affairs are pleased to announce
that the Australian Government will contribute $2 million to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) for its account for concessional emergency assistance
following natural disasters.
The announcement follows a recent decision by the IMF to subsidise loans to
low-income countries in need of urgent financing following a natural
disaster. Eligible low-income countries can request that the
IMF's concessional interest rate (currently 0.5 per cent) apply to their
loans. Previously, the IMF's standard rate of charge applied to
these loans.
The IMF has been providing emergency loans to countries with urgent balance
of payments financing needs in the wake of natural disasters since 1962. The
IMF's emergency assistance is designed to be quick-disbursing and the
funds are repayable within 3 to 5 years.
The resources required by the IMF to finance the concessional assistance
will be provided by bilateral donors. The $2million pledged by the
Australian Government through the aid programme will assist the IMF in offering
this reduced rate to low-income countries.
The IMF has approved requests for concessional assistance to Sri Lanka and
the Maldives, following the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami which hit those
countries at the end of 2004.
CANBERRA
7 June 2005
Contact:
David Alexander
02 6277 7340