The head of the technical mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that is currently in Mozambique said Wednesday in Maputo there had been “solid progress” made at meetings with the Mozambican authorities, the local press reported.

This mission, which arrived in Maputo on 16 this month, was due to have taken place in April but was delayed after the Mozambican government revealed state guarantees on loans worth over US$1.4 billion taken on by state companies.

At the end of a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, the head of the mission, Michel Lazare, said progress had been made in the assessment of the country’s economy and future negotiations between Mozambique and the IMF.

The Minister for the Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, said this month in the Mozambican parliament that the country’s public debt totalled US$11.6 billion, of which US$9.8 billion, or 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), was external debt. (macauhub/MZ)