Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued a statement in Abuja today as a conclusion to her delegation’s visit to Nigeria.
Left-to-right: Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; President Muhammadu Buhari; Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the IMF
In the statement, Ms Lagarde calls the visit to Nigeria fruitful and informative, and thanks President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria’s senior officials for their insights into Nigeria’s achievements and its outlook.
“The economy is well diversified, no longer dominated by agriculture and oil, with services accounting for almost half of GDP, including a significant home-grown film industry and innovative startups from fashion to software development. Nigeria has also experienced a decade of strong growth, averaging 6.8 percent a year. 1n 2015, however, growth is expected to slow to about 3 1/4 percent, with a slight recovery in 2016,” the statement reads.
In the course of the meetings and discussions, a range of policy recommendations was agreed upon.
“This includes focusing on the critical area of infrastructure, where power, transportation, and housing are especially key. It also includes identifying ways to broaden the revenue base, particularly to create additional fiscal space to offset the impact of lower oil prices; and the need for careful decisions on borrowing, public spending, and managing the cost of fuel subsidies – with a view to safeguarding priority social sectors and the most vulnerable groups. This will require a package of measures involving business-friendly monetary policy, flexible exchange rate policy, and disciplined fiscal policy, and the implementation of structural reforms,” Ms Lagarde says in the statement.
She commends the Nigerian authorities for their efforts to address corruption, and states her willingness to engage with Nigeria’s young people.
“I would like to thank the Government and people of Nigeria for their welcome and warm hospitality. The IMF remains Nigeria’s committed partner as it moves forward to face the challenges of the future,” the statement concludes.
The full text of the press release appeared on the official IMF website.
During the four-day visit, the delegation of the IMF, led by Ms Lagarde, held talks with the senior Nigerian officials, including President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, the governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
On Thursday, Ms Lagarde is set to leave for Cameroon.
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