The ECF arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board on July 29, 2024, for a total amount of US$3.4 billion (SDR 2.556 billion)
WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, May 30, 2025/APO Group/ --
- IMF staff and the Ethiopian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the third review of the four-year US$3.4 billion Extended Credit Facility arrangement. Once approved by the IMF Executive Board, Ethiopia will gain access to about US$260 million in financing.
- Ethiopia's macroeconomic performance has exceeded program expectations, with better-than-forecast results for inflation, export growth, and international reserves.
- Maintaining reform momentum remains essential for consolidating recent gains, correcting macroeconomics imbalances, restoring external debt sustainability, laying the foundations for high, private sector-led growth, and ensuring the success of Ethiopia’s homegrown reform agenda.
A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Alvaro Piris, visited Addis Ababa from April 3 to 17, 2025, to discuss the 2025 Article IV consultation and the third review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Discussions continued at the Spring Meetings in Washington DC, April 21-28, and subsequently. The ECF arrangement was approved by the IMF Executive Board on July 29, 2024, for a total amount of US$3.4 billion (SDR 2.556 billion). Subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, the third review will make available about US$260 million (SDR191.7 million), bringing total IMF financial support under the ECF arrangement so far to about US$1,849 million (SDR1,406.4 million).
Today, Mr Piris issued the following statement:
“The IMF staff team and the Ethiopian authorities have reached staff-level agreement on the third review of Ethiopia’s economic program under the ECF arrangement. The agreement is subject to the approval of IMF management and the Executive Board in the coming weeks. A memorandum of understanding with official creditors is expected to be agreed ahead of the IMF Board’s consideration of the third review.
“The authorities’ policy actions in the first year of the program have yielded strong results. The transition to a flexible exchange rate regime has proceeded with little disruption. Measures to modernize monetary policy, mobilize domestic revenues, enhance social safety nets, strengthen state-owned enterprises, and anchor financial stability continue to show encouraging results. Macroeconomic indicators have performed better than expected, with substantially better outcomes than forecast for inflation, goods exports, and international reserves.
“Recent policy action should help deepen the FX market and tackle remaining distortions. While real exchange misalignment has been corrected and FX availability has improved from a year ago, the spread between the official and parallel market widened again in early 2025 and high fees and commissions persist. Actions that are being rolled out to enhance transparency, reduce costs, ease restrictions on current account transactions, and strengthen prudential regulation will help to improve the functioning of the FX market.
“Maintaining reform momentum will be key to consolidating gains and securing sustainable high growth. Continued tight monetary and financial conditions will be important for managing inflation and exchange rate expectations. Further revenue mobilization is needed to provide sustainable financing for critical development spending. Reforms to improve the business environment, ensure fair taxation practices, encourage foreign direct investment, and facilitate open dialogue with business will be important to secure private sector investment. Efforts to end the remaining elements of financial repression and develop the capital market will help to mobilize savings and support the efficient allocation of capital.
“The staff team is grateful to the authorities for the excellent policy discussions and their strong commitment to the success of the IMF-supported economic program. The team met with Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia Mamo Mihretu, State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign, and other senior officials. Staff also had productive discussions with representatives of banks and businesses that are operating in a range of sectors and representatives of civil society.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
These pirates should free these innocent fellow Somalis. They were in that area to help the WFP get the needed food to that region but not to be taken hostage and treated like foreigners. If the pirates start these kinds of land crimes they’ll be the ones who will loose everything. Including, entering/staying in Somaliland in order to go to Ethiopia.
Who ever was in charge of the escort and the safety of these drivers should be help responsible for this case.
They went there to help the starving people of Somalia, after this I reckon we should get our army as well as the Ethiopians to accompany those food aid trucks and should travel via Ethiopia and enter Galkacayo from there.
I think Puntland is behind the pirates because they upset the WFP didnt use their tiny thing they call port in Bosaaso which only handles macawis (somali garments) and fishing cargo.
We need to travel via Ethiopia, and the WFP needs to pay Somaliland and Ethiopian security to work together.
We will not free those pirates and those trucks will be rescued, watch.
the world is watching closely how the puntland adminstration deals with these terrorist pirates and set free the innocent somaliland civilians abducted in puntland.
It's good that now the world sees that Somaliland and Somalia are two different places. Somaliland is the peaceful place where this aid trucks delivered the food from to Somalia where all the instability is, WFP could not even use their ports, they had to make that long journey.
Now remember the people of Somalia are as hostile as they are to any foreigner as they are to Somalilanders, so WFP next time give them arms or our port is happy to serve Ethiopia where at least our trucks do not get kidnapped.
This is why its better to do business with Ethiopia than Somalia. See what happens?
This is way some of us call this part of Somalia, a Mafialand, There is no authority to speak of if there is one then how comes tugs can stop an innocent hardworking individual and demand for payback? where is the so called Puntland authorities? are they in the pockets of these pirates?
So now pirates are operating in the land as well ?
There you go. Is there ever any doubt that Puntland is totally overrun by pirates? At least they had some decency to wait until the food got the starving people in Somalia. It is now up to the "administration" in Puntland to sort this out. For a long time, Somaliland has been trying to show the difference between Somaliland and Somalia. It is now crystal clear. Somaliland arrests, tries and sentences pirates, Somalia and Puntland act as a haven for such pirates, both on sea and now on land.
I would like to see Garowe Online or Mareeg.com spin this!
So whats the Somaliland government doing to free the hostages? They should be dealt with harshly no mercy for the pirates
My good friends,
we are all Somalis, like everyone is English.
Ooh! yes we all Frech! But each one of us has his own territory
Etc…Begium, France, Switzerland etc……
Do not be and ever cheap and fooled by the Somali.
Djibouti is alive tkx to heavens.
Rule yr home and yr domain !!!!
Tkx
Yace
it is unfortunate if the pirates started operating in puntland,and starting capturing the trucks for somaliland civilians, which are delivering food aid to Galka’ayo area.
i think it is very shamefull for puntland Goverment,
Somaliland needs to invade Puntland and their pirates if they do not release these men and their trucks as soon as possible. We will continue to arrest Puntland thugs and put them behind bars.
They are furious because Somaliland has law, they have port, and the international agencies such as WFP want to deal with Somaliland because of its peace, law and facilities.
You are hungry pirates and no one is going to deal with you, we will come to Bosaso and Garowe like we chased you from Sool and arrest you all.
I think Putland and Somaliland are what they are. They are the same old boys of SSDF and SNM who helped destroy Somalia and Somalism. Now you guys cannot make a deal to reunite and work a thing or two together. So you guys can unite to destroy but you cannot even make a simple deal. Shame on you. You fooled the other Somalis. Now you are claiming you are not even Somalis as I can see from your comments you are French and Italians trapped in Africa. Tell me that. Heheheheheh! Those are the people the revolution has to deal with.