The International Monetary Fund"s (IMF) top representative in Latvia said Friday that the Washington-based lender supported the Baltic state"s efforts to pass a make-or-break austerity budget for 2010 next week, dpa reported. David Moore, the IMF"s resident representative in Latvia, said that the revised budget approved by the government would meet the commitments to cut spending by 500 million lats (1 billion dollars). That sum is equivalent to about 4 per cent of Latvia"s GDP, according to Moore. "We continue to support the authorities" extraordinary efforts to overcome the country"s crisis," Moore added. The budget is due for a decisive vote in the Latvian parliament on December 1.
