VILNIUS, May 21 (AFP) - A senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official Friday urged the Lithuanian government to cut public spending to reduce the budget deficit and restrain the current account deficit. A top priority of the new government should be a major fiscal tightening this year and next, said John Odling-Smee, director of the IMF's eastern Europe department. Lithuania's current account deficit widened to 12.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year as exports slumped following the crisis in neighboring Russia. The IMF agreed with the Lithuanian government's plans to postpone capital expenditures, reduce budget expenditures, and improve tax collection. Lithuania was also called on to reform its agricultural and energy sectors, state support for businesses, improve competition policy and pusue deregulation. The IMF urged Lithuania to preserve its currency board and not to hurry in unpegging its national currency from the dollar to a mixed dollar/euro basket. The Fund's latest forecasts predict 2.0-2.5 percent GDP growth this year, 2.5-3.0 percent inflation and a current account deficit equal to 10 percent of GDP.  