LUSAKA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Zambia was hopeful of clinching an International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid package during talks scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings.

Fredson Yamba, Secretary to the Treasury, said the government was hopeful of clinching the aid package during latest talks because it had put all measures in place as requested by the IMF when they visited Zambia a few months ago.

The government, he said, will utilize the Spring Meetings and engage the international financial institution for an aid package which has stalled, according to a statement.

Zambia has been seeking for an aid package from the IMF believed to be around 1.3 billion U.S. dollars but the two parties have so failed to reach an agreement.

Last year, IMF urged Zambia to deal with its rising debt, which had become a focal point for the talks, warning that the country risked plunging into a debt distress.

The government has since put in place a medium term debt strategy to help it manage its debt. On Thursday, the Zambia Institute for Policy Analyst Research (ZIPAR) said the IMF aid package was vital in order to reduce Zambia's debt distress.

The local think-tank said without the IMF intervention, the risk of debt distress will grow as the southern African nation was likely to see a continuation of excessive spending and mounting fiscal imbalance between revenue and expenditure.

Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe is leading a team of government officials for the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings where she hopes to hold bilateral talks on the aid package.