National Development Minister Tamas Fellegi on Monday said he would meet on Wednesday with Iryna Ivaschenko, the International Monetary Fund’s representative in Hungary.

Mr Fellegi said the informal talks would take place until the IMF, the European Commission and the Hungarian government issue a mandate to their negotiating delegations, expected early in January.

Hungary announced in mid-November that it would seek financial assistance from the IMF and the EU as a precautionary measure. Mr Fellegi was recently tapped to head the talks with IMF and EU.