•You will hear the speech of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund at the press conference. •As you listen, f

MR.  ANJARIA:  Good  morning,  ladies  and gentlemen. I’d like to welcome you to the press conference of the Managing Director of the International  Monetary  Fund,  Mr.  Michel Camdessus; the First Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Stanley Fischer; and to his right, Mrs. Teresa Ter-Minassian, Deputy Director of the Western  Hemisphere  Department,  who  has negotiated the program with Brazil. I would like to thank you for coming on such short notice. We are in the middle of a very hectic work program, and the Managing Director will have  to  leave  shortly  to  carry  on  an important meeting of  the  Executive  Board. Then,  we will continue the press conference with Mr. Fischer and Mrs. Ter-Minassian. Managing Director, would you like to make some introductory remarks?
MR. CAMDESSUS： Yes, thank you. Before I talk about this agreement with Brazil, I would like to tell you  about another sad Brazilian  event, namely, that Mr. Alex Kafka, who has been the Executive Director for Brazil for 32 years in this institution and who was the highly-respected dean of our Executive Board, has just this week decided to retire.  I wanted to tell you that, of course, this leaves us all saddened and admiring of what he has done. The Executive Board has taken the very exceptional step of adopting a Resolution of Appreciation for his service here, and you will find this  Resolution  and  the  few  words  I pronounced in his honor on several occasions in the hack of this room.  And now,  let me  tell you my pleasure in announcing that today, the Brazilian authorities and an IMF team have successfully concluded negotiations on a strong three-year program of economic and financial reform. I have said today, but  perhaps   it   was   yesterday,   because conversations  were  concluded  sometime  llast night on technical aspects. But what matters is that this program first and foremost addresses the  chief  sources  of  Brazil’s  external vulnerability, namely, its chronic public sector deficit, which the country is now tackling in a serious and sustainable manner.  Within the framework of structural reforms, Brazil’s  three-year  fiscal  program  targets primary surpluses of 2.6 percent of GDP in 1999, 2.8 percent in 2000, and 3 percent in 2001.  The  Brazilian  authorities  are  also committed to further opening up the economy, ensuring   firm   monetary   discipline   and macroeconomic stability,  and maintaining the current exchange rate regime, while reinforcing the  exchange  reserves  and  improving  the competitiveness of the economy. The way is now open for the international community to provide financial support to Brazil that will enhance market confidence in the government’s economic policies and help ensure the success of the country ’ s program.