IMF CALLS ON LITHUANIA TO CONTINUE TIGHT FISCAL POLICIES

Patricia Alonso-Gamo, the head of an IMF mission to Lithuania, wrapped up a week-long visit by holding talks with Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas and other officials. Alonso-Gamo called on the new Lithuanian government to ensure continuity in fiscal policies, carry on structural reforms and privatization, deal with problems at the state-run social insurance fund SoDra, and take decisive actions to improve the business environment both for domestic and foreign investors. She urged the government to keep the 1.4 percent fiscal deficit for 2001 and consider cutting expenditures in various spheres. Finance Minister Jonas Lionginas expressed satisfaction that the IMF forecasts that Lithuania's GDP will grow by 3.4 percent next year are more optimistic than those of his officials.