The availability for new financing was expressed this Tuesday, in Luanda, by the IMF director for Africa, Abebe Salassie, after a meeting with President João Lourenço, where the economic situation in Angola and at a global level was discussed.
According to the official, the possibility of new financing for Angola was not discussed at this meeting, but he stated that the international financial institution is ready to provide any support that the Government may request.
“If there are difficulties in economic terms, even with the policies already implemented, and the government wants to contact the IMF, we will be available. At this time, no issue of financing has been discussed, but as always the IMF will be ready to support when necessary,” Abebe Salassie said in statements to journalists.
Salassie said that the global economic situation and that of Angola dominated the conversations at the Presidential Palace, in the context of a mission of the institution that has been in the country since last week, recalling that the IMF also shared its perspectives on the reforms developed in the country.
“We also talked about the IMF’s perspective on the economic reforms being undertaken in Angola,” he said, congratulating the President on the results obtained.
The head of the IMF also referred to the volatility of the price of oil on the international market, as a factor that impacts several economies around the world, but mentioning the very prudent economic measures taken by the Government.
"[At this meeting] we were also able to see the economic measures that are being taken to recalibrate [the country's economy], as well as the policies in place to alleviate all economic difficulties", concluded Abebe Salassie.
An IMF mission has been in Angola since last week for meetings with the Angolan technical team as part of the Post-Financing Review, with the aim of assessing Angola's ability to ensure repayments to the Fund, in a context of growing risks associated with the fall in oil prices, the widening of sovereign spreads and the tightening of external financing conditions, according to the Ministry of Finance (Minfin).
The IMF mission concluded on Tuesday, after technical meetings with different ministerial departments, with the purpose of monitoring the sustainability of public finances, assessing emerging macroeconomic risks and deepening the dialogue around the structural reforms necessary for the stability and sustained growth of the national economy.
According to the economic newspaper Expansão, the Government is evaluating the possibility of resorting to a new short-term financing program from the IMF, which should end in 2026, given the “difficulties” it has encountered in financing the General State Budget (OGE).
