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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NY Post

NEW YORK CITY, Feb 20 – When the International Monetary Fund held its biweekly embargoed media briefing on February 13, Inner City Press submitted questions including on Somalia and Bangladesh, on crypto currency here and on Egypt, see below.

 Now on February 20, the IMF has issued this on Papua New Guinea: "The Managing Director of the IMF approved on February 20, 2020, a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for Papua New Guinea, covering the period of February 20, 2020 to June 30, 2021.  Papua New Guinea faces deep macroeconomic imbalances. The economy has been hit by a series of shocks, including lower commodity prices, a severe drought in 2015-16 and a major earthquake in 2018. These shocks have undermined growth and revealed vulnerabilities in public finances and macroeconomic management. Government revenues have stagnated, public deficits have widened and SOE losses have materialized, leading to a sharp increase in the ratio of public debt to GDP.... Their program includes measures to gradually reverse the recent build-up of public debt and to redirect public spending to more productive uses, including capital investment and the social safety net. Structural reforms include the implementation of a medium-term revenue strategy, comprehensive reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and steps to address problems of governance and corruption."

  On February 14 IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice read out Inner City Press Somalia question: "In Somalia, it is reported that "Bangladesh has agreed partially pay to the IMF as debt relief for Somalia under the HIPC Initiative. 'Bangladesh's international image would benefit from the grant,' said a finance ministry official... [MD] Georgieva wrote to FM AHM Mustafa Kamal, seeking SDR 0.70 million. " Is this true? Can you explain?"

  Rice explained that the IMF's board had met about Somalia the previous day, February 12, and that it expects to issue a press release later on February 13 in conjunction with the World Bank. He explained that not only Bangladesh is being asked - thankfully - but also others, to chip in and help. But will the public know which countries paid?

 On Egypt, Inner City Press asked, "   On Egypt, it is reported that the country is in talks with the IMF over a "non-financial structural reform program.. Now that the fiscal and the monetary reform has been done, we’re talking about structural reforms,” Tarek Amer said Tuesday at an energy conference in Cairo. Please elaborate and give the IMF's thinking." Rice said, among other things, that talks continue.

More here.

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