The Islamic Republic of Mauritania's economic performance under a three-year poverty reduction program remained satisfactory despite a steeper-than-expected oil production decline and a difficult external environment, said the third review by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday.
"All quantitative targets and structural benchmarks under the PRGF arrangement were observed, and fiscal and monetary developments were in line with program projections. Sound macroeconomic policies helped control inflation, contain the fiscal deficit, and strengthen foreign exchange reserves," said Murilo Portugal, deputy managing director and acting chair of the Executive Board of the IMF.
Significant progress was achieved in the governance and structural reform areas, including the submission to parliament of a new mining code, the publication of oil production sharing contracts and the introduction of a centralized taxpayer database covering the main cities, Portugal added.
The Mauritanian government has also engaged in a comprehensive reform agenda to stimulate non-oil growth and reduce poverty, while remaining committed to macroeconomic stability, the review said.
Portugal praised the Mauritanian authorities' timely and adequate response to the potential food access crisis, saying its commitment to continue to monitor closely the situation and the impact of the emergency measures is reassuring.
The completion of the review prompted the release of around 3.1million U.S. dollars, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to about 16.6 million dollars.
The Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement for Mauritania was approved in December 2006 with around 26 million dollars.
Source:Xinhua
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