IMF Approve Loan to Ethiopia

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a US$2.9 billion loan to Ethiopia, in what is seen as a nod of approval for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s planned agenda for the country going forward.

Staff from the IMF and representatives from the Ethiopian government had been negotiating terms for a number of weeks prior to the announcement yesterday in an end of mission statement released by the Fund.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance, Eyob Tolina, hailed the news as “a huge stamp of approval” for Prime Minister Abiy, saying “It’s excellent news. They want to support our policy reform”.

A team from the IMF, led by Sonali Jain-Chandra, were in the nation’s capital, Addis Ababa towards the end of October until 8th November.

Ms Jain-Chandra said the “Ethiopian government and the IMF staff team reached preliminary agreement, subject to approval by the Fund’s Executive Board”.