The head of the International Monetary Fund says the Greek government's program to make drastic public savings is "tough" but he is optimistic it will work.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says the program agreed to by Greece under pressure from other European countries is "more V-shaped than U-shaped."

But Strauss-Kahn told reporters in Zurich the program should help lift the country out of its debt crisis.

He spoke at the end of a one-day meeting on international monetary stability hosted by the Swiss National Bank and the IMF.