Press Release No. 05/302

Press Release: IMF to Extend 100 Percent Debt Relief to Senegal Under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative

December 23, 2005

Mr. Ousmane Doré, the IMF Resident Representative in Senegal, issued the following statement on December 22 in Dakar:

"Under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the IMF Executive Board has approved debt relief for Senegal (see Press Release No 05/286). As part of the Initiative, the IMF will provide 100 percent debt relief on all debt incurred by Senegal to the IMF before January 1, 2005 that remains outstanding. This amounts to approximately US$144 million, or US$136 million excluding remaining assistance under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. This debt relief should become available in early January as soon as the remaining consents of the contributors to the PRGF Trust Subsidy Account have been received. The international community has made these additional resources available to help Senegal make progress toward its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"Senegal has qualified for IMF debt relief because of its overall satisfactory recent macroeconomic performance, progress in poverty reduction, and improvements in public expenditure management. In particular, Senegal has continued to implement sound macroeconomic policies in the face of significant exogenous shocks. These policies have maintained macroeconomic stability, limited the deterioration of public finances, and maintained a focus on reducing poverty. Performance in these areas provides assurance that resources made available under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative will be used effectively."

"The IMF looks forward to working with Senegal to help it develop a strong and stable economy and to make sustained progress toward the MDGs," he said.