IMF General Director, Christine Lagarde, currently for the first time in Romania, was impressed by "the beauty of" Bucharest, which she said reminded her of her hometown Paris.
"I was amazed by the beauty of the city. I’ve been told that Bucharest is the " Little Paris ". (...) It reminded me of my hometown Paris," Christine Lagarde said, at the beginning of her speech on the economy of Romania held at the central bank.
‘That which I find impressive, not only that Romania is a part of the European Union, but how profoundly moved are they (the citizens) of being Romanian and European at the same time’, Lagarde said.
IMF General Director is in Romania, Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday a Fund mission will come to Bucharest for talks on a new loan agreement with Romania.
The most recent agreement with the IMF and the EU of Romania, worth 5 billion has been treated by the Romanian authorities as a standby agreement, without taking any funds, following a memorandum of understanding about 13 billion signed in 2009 and completed in 2011.