Current Financial Relations

• September 28, 1963: DRC joins the IMF.
• September 6, 1991: declaration of ineligibility issued, followed by declaration of noncooperation on February 14, 1992.
• June 2, 1994: suspension of the voting and related rights of Zaire (DRC).
• Early 2001: government of the DRC undertakes the Enhanced Interim Program with a view to breaking the vicious circle of budget deficits and inflation.
• June 2002: restoration of voting and related rights, settlement of IMF arrears, and approval of three-year program under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF).
• February 1, 2003: acceptance of the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2 (a), 3, and 4 of the IMF Articles of Agreement confirming current account convertibility.
• July 2003: the DRC becomes eligible for external debt relief (decision point) under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.
• For the Executive Director for the DRC on the IMF Executive Board, see http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.htm.
• For the Governor of the Fund for the DRC, quota, and number of votes in the IMF, see http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.htm.
• For the DRC's financial position in the IMF, see http://www.imf.org/external/np/tre/tad/exfin2.cmf?memberkey1=197
• The currency of the DRC is the Congo Franc (CGF). The exchange rate is determined by the foreign exchange market.

Program

The IMF has supported the government's economic program under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) (June 2002-June 2005); financial support totals SDR 580 million (approximately US$800 million); semiannual reviews.

The DRC program under the PRGF is based on the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) dated May 2002 and the first progress report dated June 2003.

The DRC receives external debt relief under the HIPC Initiative, an initiative of the IMF and World Bank. The DRC reached its "decision point" in July 2003, making the country eligible for a reduction in its external debt from US$13 billion at end-2001 to approximately US$1.5 billion. This debt relief will become permanent at the "completion point" scheduled for 2006. (See DRC HIPC document.) In the interim, the DRC is receiving HIPC debt service relief (approximately US$76 million in 2004). Under the HIPC Initiative, the resources freed up by the debt relief are allocated for "pro-poor" spending.

Technical Assistance

The IMF provides technical assistance to the DRC on fiscal policy (1 resident expert for the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Budget), tax reform (1 resident expert at the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI)), monetary and exchange policy (1 advisor at the Central Bank of the Congo (BCC)), and reform of the BCC (1 IT expert at the BCC). The IMF also sends regular technical assistance missions on fiscal policy, tax reform, monetary and exchange policy, reform of the BCC, and statistics.

IMF Representation in the DRC

The IMF maintains a representative's office in Kinshasa, reopened after 10 years, in July 2002.
Office Address: 5th Floor, Hôtel des Monnaies, Banque Centrale du Congo
Boulevard Colonel Tshatshi, Kinshasa, DRC
Telephone: +(243) 81 700 6183, Fax: +(243) 81 301 0322, E-mail: RR-COD@imf.org