LILONGWE, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has announced the approval of 137 million U.S. dollars to support reforms for growth and resilience in Malawi.
This package will help the country "enhance fiscal sustainability and transparency, stimulate private sector-led growth, and increase resilience to shocks," the World Bank said in a statement Tuesday.
The statement outlined that 80 million dollars would be immediately released to support reforms and recovery, while the remaining 57 million dollars could be triggered in the event of a crisis.
The World Bank praised the government of Malawi for showing commitment to addressing macroeconomic imbalances, unsustainable debt, and longstanding structural and business environment constraints inhibiting private sector-led growth.
Malawi's Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Simplex Chithyola Banda welcomed the development, saying it is a testament to the increased confidence the World Bank has in the country's ongoing economic reform efforts, aiming to become a self-reliant, industrialized upper-middle-income country by 2063.
The International Monetary Fund has also approved a 174-million-dollar Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Malawi. ■
