Manuel Nunes Júnior, who was speaking at a press conference about the results of the fifth evaluation of the Technical and Financial Assistance program of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that the perspectives for 2021 are towards the recovery of positive balance of payments balances.
According to the official, for the current year, the State Budget forecasts a deficit of 2.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the most recent fiscal projections point to a positive budget balance of 2.6 percent.
"This means that, this year, we will return to our trajectory of positive fiscal balances started in 2018 and interrupted in 2020", he stressed.
Manuel Nunes Júnior also anticipates the recovery of the Liquid International Reserves which, at the moment, stand at US$8.4 billion, a value that represents about ten months of imports.
Asked whether the government will make a new deal with the IMF after ending the current three-year extended financing program, the minister said the executive "wants to continue to have a relationship with the IMF" and has a set of proposals in place. on the table.
"There are a set of options, we, the authorities, are trying to determine which one will best adjust to the moment we are living in our economy and, certainly, that before the sixth assessment, which is the last, we will have to make public what is our position on this matter," he said.
On Wednesday, the IMF approved the fifth review of Angola's financial adjustment program, allowing for the immediate disbursement of US$772 million, underscoring the authorities' positive view and commitment to the program's policies.
"The decision of the IMF board of directors allows for an immediate disbursement of US$772 million to Angola", reads the statement from the Fund, which states that the Angolan economy "is in transition to a gradual recovery from multiple shocks, including those induced by the covid-19 pandemic".
In the communiqué, the IMF added that "the authorities' political vision remains sound, and they remain committed to the economic program supported by the Expanded Financing Program."
