Washington, USA, 29 July – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved aid of US$2.9 million for Guinea Bissau, under the terms of the Monday Emergency Post-Conflict Aid Programme, the organisation said Monday in Washington.

The programme, known as the EPCA, aims to strengthen the administrative and institutional capacity of countries in a post-war period.

The decision was made at an IMF executive committee meeting held Friday and called to analyse the economic situation of Guinea Bissau under the terms of the programme, but was only announced Monday in an IMF statement.

The vice executive director and interim chairman of the IMF, Murilo Portugal, said that Guinea Bissau had made “significant progress in macro-economic stabilisation and structural reforms in an adverse external climate.”

According to Portugal the decision by the Guinean authorities to reduce the 20 tariffs on rice and fuel imports was “appropriate” but noted that in order to “fulfil 2008 fiscal targets,” Bissau would have to take measures to “make up for the impact of these measures on the budget, including implementation of policies for income and expenditure targets.” (macauhub)