On 13 December 2017, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, arrived in Ethiopia for a historic three-day visit, touring new industrial parks and meeting with government officials. This is the first time in the IMF’s 72-year history that a managing director paid a visit to the Ethiopian capital, as a demonstration of Ethiopia’s growing recognition as an economic hub of Africa.
“We had a very productive discussion about the performance of the Ethiopian economy which is doing very well in terms of growth”, Mrs. Lagarde told journalists following her discussion with President of Ethiopia Mulatu Teshome at the national palace. The Managing Director visited the country to witness for herself the economic development that the country has registered in the past two decades. “I’m very proud to come and visit. I really had a better understanding of the economic development model which has been implemented in Ethiopia” added the Managing Director.
Lagarde also appreciated Ethiopia for hosting 850,000 refugees, which is among the largest refugee population in the world. The IMF head said the work that the country is conducting to bring peace and stability to the Horn of Africa particularly Somali and South Sudan is commendable. During the discussion, President Mulatu who explained about the implementation of country’s pro-poor and inclusive development policy praised IMF for its support to Ethiopia’s economic development. He expressed hope that the visit of the Managing Director will help to further strengthen Ethiopia’s relation with the IMF, according to a high-level official who attended the meeting.
