## IMF Staff Concludes Staff Visit to Barbados

_IMF News, February 5, 2021_

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: February 5, 2021

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### Economic impact and outlook
- The global coronavirus pandemic is causing a deep recession in Barbados.
- The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 18 percent in 2020, with a gradual recovery projected to start in 2021.
- Tourism arrivals remain at a fraction of normal levels.
- Recent increases in COVID-19 cases in key source markets, including the US and the UK, will likely delay the recovery.
- A recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Barbados led to an ongoing lockdown that will reduce economic activity in the first quarter of this year.

### Program implementation and key statistics
- Implementation of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) program remains strong, despite the COVID-19 shock.
- Program targets under the Fund-supported program for end-December 2020 were met.
- International reserves reached more than US$1.3 billion at the end of December.
- International reserves had reached a low of US$220 million (5-6 weeks of import coverage) at end-May 2018.

### Structural reforms and reforms progress
- Strong steps have been made in implementing structural reforms under the program.
- A new central bank law, aimed at strengthening the autonomy of the bank while limiting the provision of credit to the government, was adopted by parliament in December 2020.
- An actuarial review of the civil service pension system was completed in November 2020, providing the basis for upcoming public pension reform.
- A new procurement law to strengthen the fairness, integrity and transparency of the procurement process is expected to be submitted to parliament in February.

### Mission, next steps, and engagement
- An IMF team led by Bert van Selm conducted a staff visit via videoconferencing between February 2-5, 2021 to discuss implementation of BERT, supported by the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
- The team is looking forward to conducting discussions for the fifth review under the EFF in May.
- The team thanked the authorities and the technical team for their openness and candid discussions.

*Press Release No. 21/32 — IMF Staff Concludes Staff Visit to Barbados — February 5, 2021*

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## References

- [Barbados and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/BRB/index.htm)
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/02/05/pr2132-barbados-imf-staff-concludes-staff-visit_