New York: The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the first review of Ethiopia’s $3.4 billion lending program, facilitating a disbursement of $340.7 million, the fund announced on Friday.
Ethiopia secured this four-year financing program from the IMF in July after implementing a series of reforms, including floating its currency, the birr, and putting its debt restructuring efforts back on track.
Late last month, both parties reached a staff-level agreement on the review, which was subsequently submitted to the board for approval.
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The Ethiopian government aims to achieve “tangible progress” on its debt overhaul by December. However, investors in its $1 billion Eurobond have rejected the proposed writedown of approximately 18%.
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In light of the ongoing reforms, the IMF has scheduled an unusually rapid pace of reviews for Ethiopia’s current program to closely monitor the impact, particularly concerning foreign exchange dynamics.
