News / National
UK to support Zimbabwe IMF programme
19 Sep 2018 at 07:37hrs | Views
Britain will support Zimbabwe to get on an interim IMF staff programme to help the country quickly clear its foreign arrears, Britain's ambassador in Harare said on Tuesday.
Clearing the $1.8 billion arrears to the World Bank and AfDB is seen as major step for Zimbabwe to start accessing foreign credit, especially for the private sector as well as foreign direct investment.
Outgoing British Ambassador Catriona Laing advised on this development after paying a courtesy call on Zimbabwe's Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
The commitment by Britain to assist Zimbabwe clear its US$1.8 billion arrears to the Bretton Woods institutions carves a new chapter for Zimbabwe's economic resurgence programmes.
During a meeting with Professor Ncube today, Ambassador Laing indicated that her country stands ready to support Zimbabwe to get on an interim IMF staff programme soon that will facilitate the clearance of debt arrears.
Professor Ncube hinted to various options that the country may exploit to get back on the IMF programme while also stating that a stabilisation programme will be unveiled next month to retain normalcy within the economy.
Zimbabwe and Britain relations have thawed over the last 12 months translating to critical facilities such as the US$100 million facility by Standard Chartered Bank and the latest US$250 million facility by a private firm that continues to quench the lending drought experienced for close to two decades.
Clearing the $1.8 billion arrears to the World Bank and AfDB is seen as major step for Zimbabwe to start accessing foreign credit, especially for the private sector as well as foreign direct investment.
Outgoing British Ambassador Catriona Laing advised on this development after paying a courtesy call on Zimbabwe's Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
During a meeting with Professor Ncube today, Ambassador Laing indicated that her country stands ready to support Zimbabwe to get on an interim IMF staff programme soon that will facilitate the clearance of debt arrears.
Professor Ncube hinted to various options that the country may exploit to get back on the IMF programme while also stating that a stabilisation programme will be unveiled next month to retain normalcy within the economy.
Zimbabwe and Britain relations have thawed over the last 12 months translating to critical facilities such as the US$100 million facility by Standard Chartered Bank and the latest US$250 million facility by a private firm that continues to quench the lending drought experienced for close to two decades.
Source - Daily News - zbc
