The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will carry out a technical assistance visit to Mozambique next May to analyze the country’s latest macroeconomic developments. The visit takes place in the context of the fourth review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program for Mozambique. During the meetings, the possibility of mobilizing resources to strengthen economic resilience will be discussed, especially in the province of Cabo Delgado, which has been affected by terrorism for more than six years.
In January, the IMF approved the third revision of the financing program for Mozambique, guaranteeing an “immediate disbursement” of 60.7 million dollars for budget support. With this new sum, total disbursements to the country amount to 273 million dollars. The program’s performance has been satisfactory, with five of the eight structural benchmarks met at the end of December 2023 and three of the four quantitative performance criteria observed.
Economic growth of 5% is expected nationally, driven by liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in a context of modest non-mining growth. Inflationary pressures have declined markedly, but significant risks remain, mainly due to adverse weather events and the fragile security situation.
The technical assistance program aims to support Mozambique’s economic recovery, reduce public debt and financing vulnerabilities, promoting higher and more inclusive growth through structural reforms. This year, modest economic growth is expected, with significant challenges, but with positive prospects, especially with the resumption of work in Cabo Delgado by the TotalEnergies oil company, which will have a positive and significant impact on growth, tax revenues and the country’s current account, following the start of LNG production and exports.
