IMF-Barbados talks over new pact to extend beyond official visit

The head of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, arrived in Barbados Tuesday for a four-day visit, but Bridgetown has said the agenda does not include a conclusion of talks on a future programme with the Washington-based financial institution.

It’s the first-ever visit of an IMF managing director to the tiny island.

In October 2018, the IMF approved a US$290 million agreement with Barbados under its Extended Fund Facility that is due to end in September.

But Prime Minister Mia Mottley told reporters that no decision will be made this week about a new programme.

“We’re going to have conversations with the Fund and we will make the decisions in the next few weeks,” said Mottley, while noting that discussions started Monday with the social partners.

“But rest assured that the same government that said to the world and the IMF that we want a balanced approach that puts people at the centre of our adjustment still is going to have the same approach whether we go back into a programme or we don’t. By the same token, even if we go into a programme, the time has come for Barbados to tell its story to the international capital,” she added.

Among the scheduled events, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will participate in a forum moderated by the Director of the IMF Western Hemisphere Department Ilan Goldfajn on Thursday, and a IMF High-Level Panel Discussion on Building Resilience and Sustainability in the Caribbean on Friday that will be moderated Jamaica’s Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke and includes PM Mottley and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland on the panel.

Mottley and Georgieva will host a joint news conference at the conclusion of the visit on Friday.

CMC