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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved an aid package for Ivory Coast aggregating US $3.5 billion with the first tranche to be released amounting to nearly US$500 million.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved an aid package for Ivory Coast aggregating US $3.5 billion with the first tranche to be released amounting to nearly US$500 million.
The programme is spread over 40 months and should help the West African country implement the national development plan. The Executive Board of the IMF has already endorsed the plan. Ivorian authorities have put in place a consolidation programme which will complement the financing provided by the Fund. This will help the West African country to tie down the repercussions of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the tightening of monetary policies of advanced countries.
The IMF authorities have observed the measures taken to reduce pressure on prices, the increase in security spending and the trade imbalance. Robust domestic demand has improved the macroeconomic imbalances of the Ivory Coast. The West African country has seen its GDP grow by 5.5% in 2022. The growth is expected to peak at 6.5% in 2023, according to the IMF sources.
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Inflation was also lower than in other countries in the region, at 5.5% over the past year. It is expected to slow to 4% this year. The Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara recently said that the country could achieve growth of 7.5% with an inflation rate that should return to 3.7% over the year. The country has launched several investment programmes, notably in the key cocoa sector, in order to set up a processing industry to create more employment and value addition.
