Costa Rica
Well-Positioned For
Global Slowdown
In a visit to Costa Rica
yesterday, Dominique
Strauss-Kahn, managing
director of the
International Monetary
Fund said that Costa
Rica is in
relatively good shape to
weather the global
economic slowdown.
Strauss-Kahn, however,
the country's central
bank should remain ready
to act.
Strauss-Kahn met with
Costa Rica's president,
Oscar Arias, the
ministro de Hacienda,
Guillermo Zúñiga, and
the president of the
Central Bank, Francisco
de Paula Gutierrez.
Strauss-Kahn said there
was general agreement
that a combination of
domestic policy
adjustment and external
financing are needed to
help the Costa Rican
economy and people deal
with the slowdown.
"In this regard, the
country can confront the
challenging global
environment from a
position of relative
strength," he said in a
statement. "The prudent
fiscal stance of recent
years provides the
authorities with some
room for maneuver."
The Central Bank must
remain "vigilant" to
ensure "a smooth
adjustment in domestic
demand and the current
account deficit,
maintain the
attractiveness of local
currency assets, and
ensure that inflation
expectations converge
toward the central
bank's inflation
target," he said.
Strauss-Kahn added that
the IMF stands ready to
help Costa Rica with as
much credit as it needs
to face the global
financial crisis.
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