New IMF, WB, DfID representatives pledge support

President Paul Kagame yesterday, at Village Urugwiro, received new representatives of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Department for International Development (DfID) in Rwanda.Speaking to journalists shortly after meeting the President, Mitra Farahbaksh, the new IMF resident representative, said Rwanda and IMF enjoy excellent economic cooperation and his organisation was committed to taking the relationship forward. “I am here to push the relationship forward. The government of Rwanda has been pursuing excellent economic policies and the Fund supports the policies,” she added.Farahbaksh pointed out IMF’s three-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI) programme which ends in June 2013, saying a mission from the headquarters will visit Rwanda early next year to kick-start the new plan.The PSI for Rwanda, approved on June 16, 2010, aimed at consolidating macroeconomic stability in the country. The programme focuses on maintaining sustainable fiscal position, strengthening monetary and exchange rate policies, and supporting growth with structural reforms to diversify the export base and improving the business environment.Carolyn Turk, the World Bank resident representative, said: “Rwanda is ambitious in development programmes and being the fastest growing economy, it places a lot of demands to the government, and we are ready to help Rwanda achieve her goals.”She noted that the Bank will continue working in the infrastructure sector, roads development, agriculture and ICT which would depend on the government’s strategy outlined in the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II).“President Kagame expressed his appreciation for the support the World Bank is giving to Rwanda and we also discussed how the World Bank will go about aligning resources to the national defined objectives within EDPRS II,” Turk noted.She has worked for the Bank for fourteen years in various countries in Eastern Europe, central Asia and East Asia.Mike Hammond, the new head of DfID in Rwanda, said the Head of State had a wide range of discussions regarding relations between DFID and Rwanda.Hammond previously worked in a similar position in Zambia.Approximately 60 per cent of DfID’s aid is channelled through budget support which goes directly into education, agricultural programmes, among other sectors.

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New IMF, WB, DfID representatives pledge support