Following is the text of the mission statement from the International Monetary Fund visit to El Salvador:

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mario Garza visited San Salvador during May 21-25 to review recent developments and the economic outlook. At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Garza issued the following statement in San Salvador: “The IMF team had productive meetings with President Mauricio Funes and his economic team. The authorities reiterated the government’s commitment to prudent policies that will place the public debt-to-GDP ratio on a downward path and protect social spending. They noted the importance of further strengthening El Salvador’s fiscal position through expenditure restraint and higher fiscal revenues and expressed their interest in maintaining a financial arrangement with the IMF until 2014. As part of the agreed working agenda, IMF staff will maintain a close dialogue with the authorities to assist them in achieving their fiscal consolidation objectives.”

SOURCE: International Monetary Fund

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Ainhoa Goyeneche in Washington at  agoyenechecu@bloomberg.net

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Marco Babic at  mbabic@bloomberg.net