The board of the International Monetary Fund approved a three-year, $455 million loan for the Republic of Congo on Monday to help support its economic recovery.
As part of the extended credit facility, the global crisis lender will provide $90 million immediately to help the oil-dependent country cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kenji Okamura, IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, said the economic growth in the second half of the year should be driven by vaccine rollout, social spending, and domestic arrears payments.
However, there are significant risks to the nascent recovery, including a worsening pandemic and oil price volatility.
Okamura noted that the government is working on restructuring its debt, but that reducing the nation’s “debt vulnerabilities” would be key.
An oil-rich country with five million people bordering the vast Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo has been in debt to China for loans used to help build some of its petroleum infrastructure.
According to the IMF, the economy will grow 2.4% this year after a small contraction last year.