On the final day of his trip to Côte D'Ivoire, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mitsuhiro Furusawa discussed his visit and meeting with President Alassane Dramane Ouattara Monday.
"I commended President Ouattara for his strong leadership and economic record amid a deteriorating global environment," Furusawa said. "Côte d’Ivoire has experienced four years of strong growth, averaging 8.9 percent a year over the past 4 years. Maintaining this growth momentum will require transitioning to a more private sector-led model while effecting reforms aimed at improving the business environment."
Furusawa praised the country's increase in pro-poor spending and its changes in the distribution of cocoa and coffee revenue in order to change farmers' stakes. However, Furusawa noted that there were still high numbers of unemployment, poverty and inequality in the nation.
"Against this background, we discussed ways to maintain economic progress while strengthening the transition toward a more inclusive model," Furusawa said. "These included a set of policy recommendations aimed at pursuing fiscal consolidation based on greater revenue mobilization and efficient spending, while increasing priority outlays. It will also require maintaining a disciplined fiscal policy in order to build buffers that would enable the conduct of counter-cyclical policy in the face of adverse shocks, as well as to contain the increase in public debt."
Finally, Furusawa acknowledged the progress Côte D'Ivoire has made in establishing a financial strategy set to establish financial stability.
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