Press Release No. 20/365

IMF Completes High-Level Staff Visit to Zambia

December 9, 2020

Washington, DC: Following Zambia’s request for a financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the IMF’s African Department, and Mr. Alex Segura-Ubiergo, mission chief for Zambia, visited Lusaka from December 7 to 9, 2020 for high-level discussions with the Zambian authorities on their Economic Recovery Plan and their request for a Fund-supported program. [1]

At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Selassie issued the following statement:

“We welcomed the opportunity to discuss the broad elements of the authorities’ Economic Recovery Program, which seeks to restore macroeconomic stability, attain fiscal and debt sustainability, restore growth and safeguard social sector spending.

“Given the deep-rooted challenges faced, policies would need to be calibrated to restore sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and creating more inclusive growth. The authorities reiterated their intention of restoring the credibility of the budget, increasing debt transparency, strengthening public financial management, as well as improving governance and preserving financial stability.

“We look forward to the presentation of the government’s home-grown economic strategy, and will be assessing in the coming weeks how the IMF could support the authorities’ reform efforts through a possible Fund program.”