Lagarde’s assurances came in response to the letter sent by Anastasiades last month to the heads of the IMF, ECB and the European Commission, which was highly critical of the way the island was treated when it came to the bailout. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice on Thursday confirmed that Lagarde had replied to the letter. “The managing director welcomed the president’s determination to continue on the path of sustainable growth and reassured him of IMF’s support for the government’s efforts to implement this very ambitious programme,” Rice said.

Referring to next week’s visit to Cyprus by a troika mission, Rice said: “Together with our European partners in the European Commission and the ECB, the IMF team will begin on July 17 talks with the Cypriot authorities on the first inspection of the economic programme.” The visit is expected to last about two weeks, he added.

The IMF spokesman added: “Since it’s the first review we will be assessing progress in the implementation of the programme and agreeing on policies for the upcoming period”. “We expect the talks to focus on the financial sector reform, the microeconomic and fiscal performance and outlook and some other structural reforms,” he concluded.

Source: Cyprus Mail