20100629
allafrica

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced Tuesday they would support a reduction of approximately 3.7 billion euros (4.6 billion dollars) of the debt of Liberia.

The impoverished nation, which is recovering from a civil war, "has successfully implemented its poverty-reduction strategy and maintained a stable macroeconomic environment, despite the global economic crisis," according to a joint statement.

"We welcome the concerted efforts made by Liberia to obtain this debt relief," Chris Lane, IMF mission chief for Liberia, said.

"This will help attract new investment and generate much needed opportunities."

The Washington-based institutions said Liberia qualified for debt relief under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.

The program launched in 1996 with the aim of ensuring that poor countries were not saddled with unmanageable debt burdens.

"Liberia can now mobilise additional resources to rebuild the road network and the electricity supply system, providing the infrastructure needed to allow economic growth, while continuing to expand the health care and education systems," Lane said.