Davos 2016: Greece Promised New IMF Loans At Meeting With Lagarde And Tsipras

Greece was promised fresh International Monetary Fund loans Thursday during a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and IMF Managing Director Christina Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Greek news reports said. High on the agenda were strategies to reduce Greece’s debt to a sustainable level, which is a key element in getting the southern European country more aid from the Washington global financial institution.

Also discussed were changes to the country’s structural reform, which is required by international lenders to get more money, and pension reforms.

“We need to complete the review, time is pressing, and it’s crucial to the completion of the program,” Tsipras told Lagarde during the hourlong meeting, which was a private discussion to which only the Greek press was allowed access, reported iefimerida, a Greek news site based in Athens.

Lagarde stressed her support for Greece and said the IMF would act quickly to ensure Athens got the help it needed now that the two had had direct communication. The IMF said last month it would consider fresh loans to Athens to help Greece further attempt its yearslong escape from financial turmoil that first arose as a result of the 2009 financial crisis.

A statement issued afterward by the IMF echoed Lagarde's few comments to reporters in Davos.

The statement said Lagarde “reiterated that the IMF stands ready to continue to support Greece in achieving robust economic growth and sustainable public finances through a credible and comprehensive medium-term economic program. Such a program would require strong economic policies, not least [of which are] pension reforms as well as significant debt relief from Greece’s European partners to ensure that debt is on a sustainable downward trajectory,” the Guardian reported.

Greek reporters in Davos covering Tsipras tweeted the two leaders discussed how to promote growth in the stagnant Greek economy and how to manage the country’s public finances, which had been hit badly by Greece’s shadowy economy, lack of a robust tax gathering systems and a low retirement age.

Earlier in the day Tsipras met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to discuss attempts by the European Union and Greece to boost the country's economy after more than eight years in the doldrums, but details of the conversation were not immediately available.