IMF says members will guide decision on recognizing Myanmar government

The International Monetary Fund will be "guided by our membership" in deciding whether to recognize the military regime that has seized power in Myanmar as the country's legitimate government, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday. The Fund is watching the situation in Myanmar closely and is "very concerned about the impact of recent events" on Myanmar's people, Rice told a regular IMF news briefing.

Reuters first reported that the IMF had transferred about $350 million in emergency coronavirus financing to Myanmar last week, just days before the coup. Rice said the IMF board followed all proper procedures in approving the payment to Myanmar. The agreement with detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government included safeguards aimed at ensuring that the funds would be used for coronavirus-related humanitarian purposes, including audit requirements and transparency for procurement contracts.

"It would be in the interests of the government, and certainly the people of Myanmar that those funds are indeed used accordingly." Sources familiar with the Myanmar payment said the timing of the transfer was unfortunate, and the design of the Rapid Credit Facility and Rapid Financing Instrument loans mean that funds go out all at once with little conditionality.

Rice defended the rapid-disbursing emergency facilities that the IMF has used to help some 85 countries cope with the pandemic. "I think they have been a huge help and assistance in the crisis, especially to the poorest countries, to low income countries," Rice said. "I think one of the reasons that they've been so effective and able to get the support out so quickly is... the conditions are relatively few."

Asked whether the IMF had concerns about Myanmar's central bank independence after the military government appointed a junta-era official, Than Nyein, to head the Central Bank of Myanmar, Rice said that central bank independence "is one of the fundamental principles that IMF believes in and supports."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)