Press Release No. 09/158

Press Release: IMF Offers Membership to Republic of Kosovo

May 8, 2009

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today certified a vote by the IMF’s Board of Governors to offer IMF membership to the Republic of Kosovo.

The Republic of Kosovo will become a member of the IMF when its authorized representative signs the IMF’s Articles of Agreement in Washington D.C. Before signing the Articles, the Republic of Kosovo must formally accept, in accordance with its own laws, the IMF’s Articles of Agreement and all the terms and conditions prescribed in the Board of Governors’ resolution, and confirm that it has taken all steps necessary to enable it to carry out all its obligations under those two documents.

Kosovo’s proposed initial quota¹ in the IMF is SDR 59.0 million (about US$ 88.64 million). There are currently 185 members of the IMF, with total members’ quotas amounting to SDR 217.4 billion (about US$ 326.6 billion).

¹ A member's quota in the IMF determines in particular its capital subscription, its voting power, its access to IMF financing, and its share in a general allocation of SDRs.