News Brief No. 02/74

News Brief: IMF Gives Final Approval of a Three-Year, US$27 Million PRGF Arrangement for The Gambia

July 23, 2002

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given its final approval of a three-year arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for SDR 20.22 million (about US$27 million) for The Gambia.

The final decision of the IMF Executive Board was contingent on a decision by the Executive Board of the World Bank on July 18, 2002. That decision concluded that Gambia's Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper (PRSP) provides a sound basis for concessional assistance by the World Bank.

The final approval of the arrangement makes the first disbursement of SDR 2.89 million (about US$4 million) available for The Gambia under the PRGF arrangement (See Press Release No. 02/32).