IMF: Russia Adopts Effective Monetary Policy Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday that the Russian authorities have adopted an effective monetary policy and fiscal measures that have helped the country protect the domestic economy from the repercussions of the corona crisis.

This came during her virtual speech at the Gaidar Forum, currently held in Moscow.

Meantime, the Bank of Russia said earlier that the country's international reserves had grown by $41.4 billion, or 7.47%, in 2020 to $595.774 billion.

"I would continue to advocate for monetary policy accommodation and fiscal policies that protect the economy from collapse at a time when we are on purpose restricting both production and consumption. I want to praise Russia, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, which in a synchronized manner did exactly that, they put a protection for the economy," Georgieva added.

"Similar to people with weak immune systems being affected by the virus more severely, countries with weak fundamentals suffer the economic crisis much more dramatically and countries like Russia that build strong fundamentals are able to sustain the shock," She emphasized.

The IMF chief indicated that if a country wants to protect itself from the impact of a sudden economic downturn, it must have a safety cushion, just as Russia did when the pandemic broke out.

Earlier last year, the International Monetary Fund praised measures by Russia to stimulate the economy amid the pandemic, yet, warned that the positive dynamics were threatened by the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.