(Jamaica Gleaner) Within two weeks, finance minister Audley Shaw is expected to jump into heat of the discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Bruce Golding administration forges ahead with plans to seek balance of payment support from the multilateral lending organisation.

Shaw told The Sunday Gleaner that he expects to make “a very strong Cabinet submission by the end of July”.

“The hard discussions will be taking place long before the end of the month,” Shaw said.

If accepted by Cabinet, the submission would mean a re-engaging of the IMF by Jamaica.

The country ended its borrowing relationship with the IMF in the 1990s, citing harsh conditionalities.

But, said Shaw, the posture of the IMF and the nature of conditionalities have changed. He also said that the lending institution has been instrumental in Jamaica’s ability to borrow nearly J$1 billion from other multilateral institutions last year.

“We could not have got that money from those multilateral institutions last year unless the IMF agreed that we are on the right track.

“We are well on our way … the difference is that it is balance of payment support that is coming into the picture now,” Shaw told The Sunday Gleaner.

The collapse of the international capital market has left Jamaica’s economy in dire straits.

Shaw told The Sunday Gleaner that should Cabinet give the IMF the green light, the country’s application may not be considered until September as the IMF would be on recess during the month of August.