Strong economic fundamentals helped Panama contain the adverse impact of the global economic downturn and financial turmoil. The 2009 Article IV Consultation highlights that real GDP of Panama in 2008 grew by 9.2 percent. Panama’s large banking system has weathered the global financial...

An update on Saudi Arabia’s Financial System Stability Assessment (FSAP) is presented. Saudi Arabia has confronted the global financial crisis from a position of strength, and took decisive steps to manage the impact of the crisis. As a result, the financial system has weathered the...

The IMF’s Executive Board completed the first review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement in June 2010 and decided that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had reached the completion point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. In 2010, an...

This 2008 Article IV Consultation highlights that Montenegro has made significant progress in overhauling its economy. The authorities have taken several welcomed steps to help strengthen financial sector stability. Executive Directors have welcomed the structural reforms implemented over the...

The staff report for Haiti’s Fourth Review under the Three-Year Arrangement, and request for Waiver of Performance Criterion and Augmentation of Access is examined. The financial system, which has not been significantly affected by the financial crisis, remains sound. External credit...

The staff report for the Second Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility focuses on the Republic of Armenia’s economic environment and policy discussion. Financial sector reforms will focus on improving corporate governance, strengthening...

The Kyrgyz Republic’s request for an 18-month Arrangement under the Exogenous Shocks Facility is discussed. International commodity prices continued to rise through much of 2008, resulting in a surge in inflation to more than 30 percent by mid-year and a widening of the current account...

The study focuses on corrective fiscal policies for 2000, the budgets for 2001, and the agenda for structural reform. An important issue discussed in revising the 2000 budgets was the expenditure policy required to contain spending commitments within available resources. The authorities have...

Lebanon is facing a difficult global, regional, and domestic environment simultaneously for the first time in more than a decade. Domestic policies should aim at instilling confidence and tackling key policy challenges, such as preserving macroeconomic stability and paving the way for a more...

Staff Report for the 2012 Article IV consultation, prepared by a staff team of the IMF, following discussions that ended on July 23, 2012, with the officials of Sudan on economic developments and policies. Based on information available at the time of these discussions, the staff report was...