IMF eyes first Zimbabwe financing since 1999

The International Monetary Fund has started talks with Zimbabwe's government to review its economic performance, stepping up engagement as Harare seeks a financial aid package after years of isolation.

President Robert Mugabe's government started defaulting on debts to the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank and several Western lenders in 1999, leading to a freeze in IMF assistance, and is struggling to emerge from a catastrophic recession that ran for a decade till 2008.

Without balance of payment support or foreign credit, Zimbabwe is running its budget hand-to-mouth, leaving it virtually no money for infrastructure.