October 21, 2019

End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for discussion and decision.

• The Equatoguinean authorities and an IMF team reached staff-level agreement on a three-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
• The economic program aims at strengthening macroeconomic and financial stability, fostering economic diversification and improving governance, with the goal of promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
• The Equatorial Guinea government’s request for an EFF arrangement is expected to be considered by the IMF Executive Board in December.

An IMF team led by Lisandro Ábrego met in Washington D.C. with an official delegation from the government of Equatorial Guinea during October 15-20, 2019 to continue discussions, started in Malabo in September (Press Release No. 19/357), on a three-year financing program. At the end of the discussions, Mr. Ábrego, issued the following statement in Washington D.C. today:

“The IMF team and the Equatoguinean authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on a three-year financing arrangement that would be supported under the EFF. The new arrangement will build on the achievements of the recently concluded staff-monitored program (Press Release No. 19/357).

“The EFF program’s overarching goals are to support the recovery of economic activity and foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The program seeks to strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability, promote economic diversification, foster good governance and transparency and support the fight against corruption. At the same time, the program aims at increasing the fiscal space to improve social protection, including mitigating the effects of macroeconomic adjustment on low-income groups, and promote human capital development. The financing arrangement would facilitate economic policy and overall reform implementation, bolster investor confidence, catalyze resources from other multilateral institutions, and contribute to the CEMAC strategy.

“Over the coming weeks the authorities will continue to work on implementing an agreed set of measures before the three-year arrangement is brought for consideration to the IMF Executive Board. At the same time, the IMF team will prepare a report supporting Equatorial Guinea’s request for the arrangement for submission to the Board, which is expected to consider the economic program in December.

“The IMF staff team wishes to thank the Equatoguinean authorities for the close collaboration and very constructive and fruitful discussions.”

The team met with the Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning, Mr. César Mba Abogo; the Secretary of State for the Treasury, Ms. Milagrosa Obono Angue; and other senior government officials.