Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Washington Friday (September 20) with a warm greeting.

IMF staff and the Sierra Leonean authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms that could be supported by a new 38-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, with requested access of SDR 187 million (about US$253 million).

President Bio thanked Georgieva for the IMF’s support of Sierra Leone. During the meeting, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva congratulated him on Sierra Leone reaching a staff-level agreement for IMF support.

She also reaffirmed IMF’s commitment to supporting Sierra Leone’s economic stabilization efforts.

The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) would support restoring stability through continued macroeconomic adjustment to address debt vulnerabilities, reduce inflation, and rebuild international reserves; bolster inclusive growth and poverty reduction through structural reforms and targeted social spending; and revitalize the reform agenda to strengthen governance and institutions – all advancing the poverty reduction and growth aspirations outlined in the country’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024-30.

The program focuses on fiscal and debt sustainability, monetary policy operations, drivers of inflation, external sector stability, trade facilitation, macroeconomic implications of gender inequality, climate-related risks, and the adequacy of social policies.

After the meeting, President Bio made a short statement.

“We have been engaged with the IMF for a very long time. When we came in the country was out of program, but we did a series of things that gave them the confidence to come back. And we have been working amicably well. We have just come to the conclusion of one program and after intensive discussions because of the successful completion of the last ECF, we have just agreed on another program. The last ECF ended in 2023 December, and after intensive discussions we are going to start another one,” Bio said in a statement.

I think this is an opportunity to thank our country team, the management and the leadership of the IMF, and to also assure them that as we demand reforms within the international financial institutions, we are making our own efforts at home,” Bio said.