Press Release No. 15/162

Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Greece

April 5, 2015

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), met today with Mr. Yanis Varoufakis, Minister of Finance for Greece, for an informal discussion on the Greek government's reform program. After the meeting, Ms. Lagarde made the following statement:

“Minister Varoufakis and I exchanged views on current developments and we both agreed that effective cooperation is in everyone’s interest. We noted that continuing uncertainty is not in Greece’s interest and I welcomed confirmation by the Minister that payment owing to the Fund would be forthcoming on April 9th.

“I expressed my appreciation for the Minister’s commitment to improve the technical teams’ ability to work with the authorities to conduct the necessary due diligence in Athens, and to enhance the policy discussions with the teams in Brussels, both of which will resume promptly on Monday. I reiterated that the Fund remains committed to work together with the authorities to help Greece return to a sustainable path of growth and employment.”