BUDAPEST, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Hungary has taken the right decision for not giving in to demands from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during credit negotiations over the past year or so, Hungarian minister in charge of liaising with the IMF Mihaly Varga said on Sunday.
Speaking on a public radio, Varga pointed to a recent study issued by the IMF in which it acknowledged that some of the measures it had proposed to the eurozone were not as effective as had been hoped.
Varga said he was glad to hear the IMF admit that it was open to professional debate, and was ready to listen to the positions of recipient countries.
He noted that when Hungary had asked for a line of credit back in 2008, it had been granted within three weeks because the government had accepted all conditions thrown at it. In contrast, the current administration has been negotiating for over a year and was quite correct in sticking to its guns on certain issues.
He hoped the IMF would be more open to Hungary's opinion in the months to come.
Hungary has remained above water in recent months without the IMF credit. It has held its deficit to below 3 percent of its GDP while reducing its overall debt and its interest rates, which all are signs of a balanced economy, Varga said.
He also predicted that the country's second economic recession in four years could end in the months to come.
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