KIGALI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Rwanda on policies needed to complete the first reviews of the country's 319-million-U.S. dollar loan spending under the IMF's new Resilience and Sustainability Facility, according to a statement released by the Rwandan Finance Ministry.
The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF's Executive Board in May. Upon completion of the review, Rwanda will have access to a new loan of about 74.6 million U.S. dollars, according to the statement issued late Tuesday.
After two weeks of deliberations with various Rwandan government officials, the IMF's mission team hailed the country's performance under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility as well as Policy Coordination Instrument programs.
"The mission is grateful for the authorities' excellent cooperation and candid and constructive discussions and reaffirms the IMF's support for the government's efforts to implement its economic reform program," the statement quoted Haimanot Teferra, who led the IMF mission, as saying.
The statement said the IMF mission team highlighted Rwanda's strong economic growth in 2022, supported by manufacturing and services sectors, which offset weak agricultural production and a slowdown in construction activity.
However, the team noted inflationary pressures in Rwanda caused by rising food prices as well as high commodity prices and tight global financing conditions that have weakened the country's external position.
It also warned that Rwanda remains vulnerable to economic shocks from the external environment, necessitating the urgent need to rebuild policy buffers, the statement said. ■