WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reached agreement with Afghanistan on a new three-year economic program supported by a $125 million loan (82.3 million pounds).
The IMF said in a statement the deal will be submitted to the IMF board for final approval in late August.
The IMF said the program will complement Afghanistan's broader development agenda. The announcement came the same day as a major international conference in the capital Kabul to raise money to reconstruct the country as around 150,000 foreign forces tackle an increasingly bloody insurgency.
Despite security and political constraints in Afghanistan, the IMF said economic growth was stronger, inflation was under control, and tax collection had grown significantly in 2009 giving the government more revenues, it added.
It said the program will focus on policies that constrain inflation, strengthen revenues, seek more transparency in the mining sector, and improve the budget process and public spending.
"The main goals of the program are to move towards financial sustainability, ensure that the money is well used, and build capacity for policy implementation," the IMF said.
(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
