Press Release No. 17/344

Statement by IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa at the Conclusion of a Visit to Burkina Faso

September 13, 2017

• A new ECF arrangement in support of the country's economic and social development plan under discussion would aim to balance the scaling up of investment with maintaining macroeconomic stability.
• Reforms to increase fiscal space would need to be pursued alongside investment scaling up.
• Lifting growth will also require reforms to enhance governance; boost the economic role of women and support gender equity; and protect the poor.

Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today in Ouagadougou at the conclusion of his visit to Burkina Faso:

“I wish to thank President Kaboré, Prime Minister Kaba Thiéba, Minister of Economy, Finance and Development Coulibaly Sori, and other senior officials for our productive exchange of views and their warm hospitality during my visit to Ouagadougou. I would also like to express my gratitude to all stakeholders with whom I met, including the Mogho Naba as well as private sector representatives.

“In my discussions, I expressed my sympathy and regret for the attack at a restaurant in Ouagadougou on August 13 that left eighteen dead and many more wounded and that was subsequently followed by the passing of Dr. Salifou Diallo, President of the National Assembly.

“I noted that Burkina Faso and the IMF have enjoyed an excellent relationship over a long period of time and that we at the IMF wished for this relationship to continue in the period ahead.

“I congratulated the authorities on preserving macroeconomic stability during the difficult political transition from 2014–16. I welcomed their determination to speed up development under the 2016-2020 national economic and social development plan (PNDES) and reaffirmed the Fund’s willingness to support their efforts to accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. A new ECF arrangement in support of the PNDES, already under discussion, would aim to balance the scaling up of investment with maintaining macroeconomic stability, including debt sustainability.

“I emphasized that reforms to increase fiscal space would need to be pursued alongside investment scaling up. Enhanced revenue mobilization and restraints on the growth of current spending are needed to avoid recourse to excessive borrowing, particularly on the already stretched regional market. Strengthened procedures for project selection and execution would also improve the efficiency of investment spending.

“I emphasized that lifting growth will also require reforms that complement investment scaling up, including plans to enhance governance; boost the economic role of women and support gender equality; and protect the poor. Recent Fund work has highlighted the benefits of complementing macroeconomic reforms with meaningful measures to protect the poor and to enable people across the income spectrum and women to gainfully participate in economic activity.

“Finally, I would again like to reiterate the IMF’s strong support for Burkina Faso, and look forward to our continued partnership.”