NAIROBI, March 5 (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund completed a staff mission to Kenya and said that discussions with the East African country’s authorities would continue at the upcoming IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.
The IMF said in a statement that the aim of the visit was to discuss recent economic developments and advance technical discussions after Kenya requested a new lending programme.
On Wednesday Kenya’s Finance Minister John Mbadi said the government did not expect the visit to yield an agreement on a new programme.
“Discussions highlighted the need to strengthen fiscal discipline, enhance fiscal credibility, and build resilience to external shocks,” the IMF statement said on Thursday, adding that the staff mission would not result in an IMF Executive Board discussion.
IMF and Kenyan officials also discussed risks including potential spillovers from the Middle East conflict, the statement added.
(Reporting by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and George Obulutsa;Editing by Alexander Winning)
Comments