IMF Staff to Visit Senegal This Week, Reflecting Progress Toward New Program

WASHINGTON/DAKAR, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The International ⁠Monetary ⁠Fund said on ⁠Monday that its staff would visit ​the West African country from August 19 to September ‌1 to continue discussions ‌on policies and reforms that could be ⁠supported ⁠by a new lending arrangement.

The two-week visit by a ​full IMF team reflects progress toward a new lending program for Senegal, and will involve more technical ​discussions, said a source familiar with the discussions.

• ⁠On August ⁠3, an IMF ⁠spokesperson ​told Reuters that “IMF staff stand ready to visit as soon ​as the ⁠authorities indicate they are prepared for the next phase of discussions.”

• The visit will be the latest to help resolve a debt misreporting ⁠issue disclosed in 2024 that led to a freeze in ⁠the previous IMF program.

• Last week, Senegal’s minister-delegate for budget visited China, the country’s largest bilateral creditor, two sources told Reuters.

• Senegal and the IMF have been working on the debt issue since 2024, when the country’s then-newly elected leaders disclosed a far larger ⁠debt pile than previously reported.

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Johannesburg, Andrea Shalal in Washington and Portia Crowe in Dakar; Additional reporting by ​Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander ​Winning and Edward Tobin)

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