Washington, DC:
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Luca Antonio Ricci
conducted a virtual staff visit with the authorities of Côte d’Ivoire
during January 25-February 3, 2022 to discuss recent economic developments
and the economic outlook.
At the conclusion of the IMF virtual staff visit, Mr. Ricci issued the
following statement:
“The IMF staff team notes that, despite the spread of the Omicron variant,
the spike in new cases was short-lived and the increases in severe cases
and hospitalizations remained limited. As such, the authorities were able
to avoid the introduction of disruptive containment measures in the
implementation of the national strategy to fight against COVID-19. On the
vaccination front, progress has been made, with more than 8 million doses
being administered by end-January. The authorities plan to accelerate the
vaccination campaign to administer another 5 million doses before the end
of February 2022.
“The Ivorian economy continues to show signs of resilience to the pandemic
and of sustained recovery in 2021. Inflation increased significantly in
2021, in line with international inflationary pressures and largely on
account of food price inflation. As noted at the time of the 2021 Article
IV consultation, economic growth is expected to remain robust in 2022 and
in the medium term.
“With regard to risks, on the positive side, the medium-term outlook
could benefit from both the implementation of a strong reform agenda
within the context of the National Development Plan and the discovery
in 2021 of additional oil and gas reserves. At the same time, the
economy is subject to downside risks, such as the emergence of new
COVID-19 variants, disruptions to global supply chains, international
geopolitical tensions, and tightening of global financial market
conditions with adverse consequences for capital flows to emerging
market and developing economies.
“The IMF staff team and Ivorian authorities agreed that a key pressing
policy priority remains the need to enhance domestic revenue mobilization.
This would help to finance productive and social spending to support strong
and inclusive growth, while preserving macroeconomic and debt
sustainability and enhancing macroeconomic resilience.
“The 2022 Article IV consultation mission is tentatively planned for April
2022, and it will provide an opportunity to discuss in greater detail the
economic outlook and policy developments.
“The IMF staff team wishes to express its gratitude to the Ivorian
authorities and other stakeholders for the productive and fruitful
discussions.”
The IMF staff held virtual meetings with Prime Minister Patrick Achi;
Minister and Secretary General of the Presidency Abdourahmane Cissé;
Minister of Economy and Finance Adama Coulibaly; Minister of Budget and
State Holdings Moussa Sanogo; Minister of Planning and Development Nialé
Kaba; Minister for the Promotion of Good Governance, Capacity Building and
Fight against Corruption Epiphane Zoro Bi Ballo; other senior government
and BCEAO officials, representatives of the private sector, and Côte
d’Ivoire’s development partners.
