Press Release No. 95/55

Press Release: Slovak Republic Accepts Article VIII Obligations

October 26, 1995

Two of the main purposes of the IMF, as stated in its Articles of Agreement, are to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, and to contribute thereby to the promotion and maintenance of high levels of employment and real income; and to assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments in respect of current transactions between IMF members. In seeking to achieve these objectives, the IMF exercises firm surveillance over the exchange rate policies of its members, and oversees the elimination of exchange restrictions that hamper the growth of world trade.

By accepting the obligations of Article VIII, the Slovak Republic gives confidence to the international community that it will continue to pursue sound economic policies that will obviate the need to use restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, and thereby contribute to a multilateral payments system free of restrictions.

The Slovak Republic succeeded to the membership of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic as well as to a share of its quota, assets, and liabilities in the IMF on January 1, 1993; its quota¹ is SDR 257.4 million (about $387 million).

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