File photo shows flight ET 684 of Ethiopian Airlines taxies on the runway of Pudong International Airport in east China's Shanghai Municiplaity, March 30, 2014. The landing of the plane here on Sunday marks the opening of the first direct flight between Shanghai and Africa. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)
ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised Ethiopia's economy for showing strong resilience during the past fiscal year amid continued weak global prices for Ethiopia's key exports and the reemergence of drought conditions in parts of Ethiopia.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Julio Escolano, an advisor for IMF's African department, had paid a working visit to Ethiopia from September 13 to 26 to conduct the 2017 Article IV consultation discussions with the Ethiopian government.
In an assessment report released Wednesday, the team commended Ethiopia's economy for maintaining strong resilience despite the back-to-back drought that wreaked havoc in some parts of the east African country.
"The Ethiopian economy showed strong resilience in 2016/17 amid continued weak global prices for Ethiopia's key exports and re-emergence of drought conditions in parts of the country. Real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 9 percent in 2016/17," team leader Escolano said.
Prudent budget execution led to a lower-than-planned fiscal deficit, estimated at 2.5 percent of GDP, the assessment indicated. IMF further advised the Ethiopian government that monetary policy should also be tightened so as to complement the restrictive fiscal stance.
"Government interventions to mitigate the social impact of the drought, in collaboration with development partners, were timely and effective, thus limiting its human cost," said Escolano.
Escolano, however, stressed that the east African country's exports continued to stagnate due to weak global commodity markets and delays in completion of key related projects.
IMF, as part of the assessment, advised that medium-term growth prospects, supported by strong private investment, completion of key supporting infrastructure projects, and rising productivity are favorable as exports-oriented industries take root.
The ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic revenue collection and governance of public enterprises need to be stepped up to mobilize domestic resources and encourage their effective use, it indicated.
Extensive use of public-private partnerships, private concessions, and privatization proceeds, in line with the authorities' policies, will safeguard public resources while helping private sector development.
"The current positive investor sentiment towards Ethiopia could be enhanced by reforms to improve the business climate. A more flexible exchange rate would help competitiveness. Improving economic statistics would support policymaking and investor confidence," the report read.
As part of the Article IV consultation discussions, the IMF attempts to assess each member country's economic condition, which also helps to forestall future financial challenges.
The IMF staff team, during their stay in Ethiopia, had presented its key findings and recommendations to senior Ethiopian officials including Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Substantive technical and policy discussions were also held with Teklewold Atnafu, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and Abraham Tekeste, Ethiopian Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation.
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund is further expected to discuss the staff report for the east African country in November this year.
