ADDIS ABABA (Halbeeg News) – Somali authorities and officials from International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to the completion of the first review of the 4th Staff Monitored Programme (SMPIV).
Following a meeting last week in Addis Ababa, the IMF lauded Somalia’s commitment to realizing debt relief citing robust revenue mobilization, new mobile regulations and agreements between the Federal Government and Federal Member States on securing debt relief ‘despite broader political differences’.
“IMF staff welcomes the authorities’ ongoing commitment to reform under SMPIV. All the structural benchmarks for the first review—that is the reform measures critical for achieving the goals of SMP IV—have been met, and, although risks remain, progress is being made towards meeting those set for the second review,” a statement from the global lender read in part.
The International lender organization has called for ‘strong support’ from the international community to fast track Somalia’s realization of debt relief thresholds noting the country had made significant progress towards meeting the requisite conditions for debt relief.
“To fulfill the authorities’ goal of reaching the HIPC DP as soon as possible, strong support from the international community will be critical to secure the financing needed to clear Somalia’s arrears to the international financial institutions (IFIs) and debt relief,” IMF stated.
The fourth Staff-Monitored Program (SMPIV) is covering the period May 2019—July 2020.
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