This statement was made by Mr. John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) who visited Monrovia during February 14-16, 2010. Mr. Lipsky met with President Johnson-Sirleaf and her economic team to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing Liberia.

He welcomed the progress that the government has made in implementing structural reforms, notably through the enactment of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act that underpins the effective working of the government.

He also welcomed the work being done in Liberia under the auspices of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Liberia is the first country in Africa to have its reports validated by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board. The authorities have made significant progress in implementing the triggers to achieve the completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives (HIPC/MDRI). With continued strong performance, Liberia could reach the completion point later in 2010. This will provide much-needed space to tackle the challenges facing the country.

“Nevertheless, after this stabilization and debt reduction phase, the authorities will need to focus on promoting public investment and growth, and continue rebuilding institutions and infrastructure. This will be key to reducing poverty.'

He said that the international community would need to continue supporting Liberia. The Fund has made exceptional efforts to provide technical assistance and financial resources to aid Liberia's economic recovery since 2005 and we have drawn useful lessons from this experience that may benefit other countries in future. The IMF will soon open a new Technical Assistance Center in Accra, Ghana, that will provide the support to implement effectively those efforts.#