International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has praised Ethiopia's “strong progress” in its Home-grown Economic Reform programme.
Georgieva, who arrived in Addis Ababa on Saturday for a two-day official visit, met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, National Bank of Ethiopia governor Mamo Mihretu, Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Assefa, and other senior Ethiopian officials.
“It was great to meet the Ethiopian PM to discuss Ethiopia's impressive economic performance," she said in a post on social media. "I saw here in Addis Ababa the signs of a vibrant private sector-led market economy, and I'm delighted the IMF is a partner for the government's home-grown reform agenda.”
After meeting with Georgieva, Abiy said Ethiopia's macroeconomic reform programme, supported by one of the IMF's largest financing programmes, is based on a home-grown vision and reform agenda that clearly articulates the country's growth and development aspirations.
"We value the IMF's continued technical and financial support, as well as your (Georgieva's) personal efforts and contributions to our economic reform program," Abiy said in a social media post. "We have taken decisive, comprehensive, and historic steps to overcome long-standing macroeconomic challenges."
Abiy said the results of the programme so far have been positive and encouraging. He said the government's ongoing implementation efforts are aimed at achieving macroeconomic stability, accelerating growth and improving the living standards of citizens, thereby enabling Ethiopia to become a model of prosperity in Africa.
The IMF chief, who also met with Ethiopian business leaders, said recent reforms are clearly helping to improve the investment climate, and urged Ethiopia to keep up the momentum with an efficient and predictable tax and regulatory environment that will pave the way for strong private sector growth.
According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, the high-level meetings focused on the country's ongoing economic reforms, the IMF's support, and the prospects for continued cooperation to advance the country's economic agenda.
The IMF chief also visited socio-economic development initiatives, including a women's rehabilitation centre and a boarding school for the blind in Addis Ababa. She said such initiatives "show how well-targeted social spending can create opportunities and transform lives".
In July last year, the IMF approved a 48-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Ethiopia of about $3.4 billion to support Ethiopia's Home-grown Economic Reform agenda to address macroeconomic imbalances, restore external debt sustainability, and lay the foundation for higher, inclusive, and private sector-led growth.
Home-grown Economic Reform is Ethiopia's economic reform blueprint that aims to make the country "the African icon of prosperity by 2030". In October 2024, the Ethiopian government announced an economic growth target of 8.4 per cent for the current Ethiopian fiscal year 2024/2025, amid positive prospects in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and other key economic sectors.
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria, with a population of approximately 126.5 million, according to the World Bank.
