IMF Team Concludes Mission to Liberia, Praises Progress on Economic Reforms and Fiscal Management

IMF Team Concludes Mission to Liberia, Praises Progress on Economic Reforms and Fiscal Management.

The staff of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Daehaeng Kim, Mission Chief for Liberia, visited Monrovia from June 24 to July 5, 2024. The purpose of the visit was to negotiate a new Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement with the Liberian government, aimed at bolstering the new administration’s ambitious reform agenda.

Following the mission, Mr. Kim issued a statement:

The authorities are making commendable progress in tackling immediate policy challenges and reestablishing policy credibility. Through streamlining recurrent public expenditure and enhancing revenue management, they have substantially reduced the fiscal deficit in the first five months of 2024. Furthermore, a prudent monetary policy has led to a gradual decline in inflation to single digits and maintained a stable exchange rate.

The IMF team appreciates the authorities’ dedication to key policy priorities focused on restoring fiscal sustainability, rebuilding external reserves, and advancing a robust reform agenda to address governance and corruption issues.”

The IMF team acknowledges the significant efforts by Liberian authorities in these areas and looks forward to continued collaboration to achieve these critical objectives.

The authorities and the IMF team had constructive discussions on the key objectives of the new administration’s economic reforms. They reached a consensus on the primary goals of a new IMF-supported program and most of the key policies to underpin the program. However, a few policy issues still require further discussions before finalizing a staff-level agreement on the new ECF arrangement.

Discussions will continue in the coming days to finalize the staff-level agreement, aiming to present Liberia’s request for the new IMF-supported program to the IMF’s Executive Board in September 2024.

The IMF team extends its gratitude to the authorities for their warm hospitality and productive discussions.