Press Release No. 19/39

IMF Spokesperson Statement on Ecuador

February 12, 2019

Mr. Gerry Rice, the International Monetary Fund’s chief spokesperson, made the following statement on Ecuador today:

“The IMF together with other partner multilateral financial institutions have been engaged in a close dialogue with the Ecuadorian authorities over policies to strengthen Ecuador’s economy for the benefit of all Ecuadorians.

“As part of this partnership, the Ecuadorian authorities and the IMF have agreed to deepen this dialogue with the goal of working toward a possible IMF-supported financial arrangement. This potential IMF supported arrangement would aim to protect the poor and most vulnerable, boost competitiveness and job creation, improve transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption as well as fortify the institutional foundations for dollarization.

“In this context, an IMF team is currently in Quito to continue this dialogue and identify how the IMF can best support the government’s home-grown policy plan.”