Democratic Republic of the Congo: Statement at the Conclusion of an IMF Mission
November 2, 2022
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
Kinshasa, DRC: The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission Chief for the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mercedes Vera-Martin issued the following statement today:
“During October 19–November 2, an IMF staff team met with the Congolese authorities in Kinshasa in the context of the third review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The mission discussed its findings with the President of the Republic Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, State Minister for Budget Aimé Boji, Minister of Finance Nicolas Kazadi, and the Banque Centrale du Congo Governor Malangu Kabedi Mbuyi.
“Despite the challenging domestic and external environment, including the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and raising tensions in the east of the country, the economy is showing resilience, with real GDP growth forecast at 6.6 percent in 2022. The inflation rate reached 11.7 percent year-on-year at end-September 2022, mainly driven by high global food and energy prices.
“The IMF team had fruitful discussions with the authorities, recognizing challenges associated with the escalating armed conflict in the east, and focused on recent macro-financial developments and outlook, monetary and fiscal policies for 2023, financial sector issues, and continued structural reforms to support macroeconomic stability and build resilience to shocks.
“Building on these constructive discussions, staff and the authorities made good progress and will advance work in the coming weeks toward reaching a staff-level agreement on the completion of the third review under the ECF.
“The IMF team would like to thank the DRC’s authorities for open and constructive discussions during the mission.”
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