Mr. Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today met with President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera of Malawi. He also met Malawi’s Vice President Salous Klaus Chilima and senior officials at the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM). At the conclusion of his visit in Lilongwe, Mr. Selassie issued the following statement:

“President Chakwera and I had productive discussions on the economic and developmental prospects for Malawi. I welcomed the authorities’ vision to create a self-reliant nation and upper-middle income country. I also commended them on their on-going efforts to combat corruption and enhance transparency and accountability in the use of public resources. We also exchanged views on the concerted efforts that are being taken to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused hardship to Malawians.

“We also discussed at length the reform options that are required to address the country’s challenging macroeconomic situation. I underscored the centrality of the authorities’ actions to ensure debt sustainability, which is a precondition for creating fiscal space for social and development spending. I reiterated that the upfront actions to address debt sustainability would help to ensure that any financing that is provided by the IMF could be used to address pressing developmental challenges that are faced by the country. I assured the President that IMF staff would continue to support Malawi’s efforts.

“I welcomed the close collaboration with IMF staff to understand a misreporting case that seemed to have taken place during the previous IMF-supported program. The IMF takes misreporting cases seriously, and in this regard, I appreciated the authorities’ efforts in delivering on the corrective actions.

“I thanked President Chakwera and his colleagues for their warm hospitality during my visit.”