DAKAR (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Benin on a new 42-month extended credit facility worth $658 million, the IMF said in a statement on Friday.
The program is intended to help the West African country address pressing financing needs related to security, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, as well as anchor its national development plan, the IMF said.
“IMF staff and the Beninese authorities have reached agreement on an innovative program – first case under the IMF’s High Combined Credit Exposure (HCCE) policy – to support the economy in the near-term while advancing policies and reforms to foster sustained private sector led growth,” it said.
The agreement is subject to approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board around mid-June 2022.
(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler)
