October 12, 2017

A delegation of the Republic of Haiti led by the Minister of Economy and Finance and accompanied by the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation and the Governor of the Central Bank held discussions on October 12, 2017 with leaders of multilateral and bilateral institutions (henceforth development partners) involved in development efforts in Haiti. The meeting was convened by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a follow-up to conversations between the President of the Republic of Haiti and the Managing Director of the IMF, in the margin of the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Government of Haiti (GoH) and development partners agreed that economic and social stability are paramount to achieve sustainable growth and development objectives. Accordingly, the Haitian Authorities and the IMF committed to work toward completing an agreement on a six-month Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). Under this SMP, fiscal policy will focus on mobilizing domestic revenue to make room for needed increases in public investment, including investments in health, education, and social services. The program will benefit from development partners’ support to ensure the concessional financing of key strategic sectors and implementation of structural reforms while mitigating social impacts in order to allow for the success of the program. The SMP is to be designed to build a track record and support a future request by the GoH for an arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

The GoH and development partners agreed that coordinated efforts are essential to address structural bottlenecks and implement key reforms in the energy sector, where large losses arising from the operations of the public electricity utility (EDH) have in recent years been responsible for approximately half of the public sector deficit. These reforms include increased flexibility in supplier pricing, reduction of administrative costs, improvement of billing and collection rates, rehabilitation and expansion of the national grid, and transition to lower-cost and renewable energy sources.

The GoH and development partners also identified improvements in public finance management as crucial to ensure long-term debt sustainability. Mobilization of domestic resources and institutional strengthening are also priorities. Haitian representatives cited agriculture, road and hydraulic infrastructures, reforestation and seed production, low income and affordable housing, information technology and technical and vocational training as areas where greater support is needed. All parties noted the need for the government of Haiti to foster a climate which facilitates investment and economic opportunity.

All parties agreed to maintain strong engagement to capitalize on the momentum for reform and economic development in Haiti. To facilitate investments and make optimal use of both domestic and development partner resources, the GoH committed to develop, in cooperation with domestic stakeholders and international partners, a long-term investment plan in order to sequence and prioritize needed investments.

Development partners and the GoH are committed to joint efforts to strengthen reform and project implementation, in order to lead the country to the path of sustained inclusive growth and poverty reduction.