The IMF approved a 36-month credit agreement for $1.778 billion dollars with Costa Rica, the entity reported Monday, which immediately released $296.5 million to stabilize the economy of the Central American country.
The money will be used to help “support Costa Rica’s recovery and stabilize its economy,” in addition to ensuring sustainable debt, the agency said in a statement issued by its Washington headquarters.
“The home-grown program supported by the IMF focuses on implementing equitable fiscal reforms to ensure debt sustainability, while protecting the most vulnerable,” the agency said.
“Looking ahead, the government’s reform agenda is designed to help promote inclusive and sustainable growth, including through innovative digitalization, climate-change mitigation and resilience building.”
Costa Rica will receive a three-year, $1.78 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund as part of the financial entity’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
“When a country borrows from the IMF, it commits to undertake policies to overcome economic and structural problems,” the IMF says. “Under an EFF, these commitments, including specific conditions, are expected to have a strong focus on structural reforms to address institutional or economic weaknesses, in addition to policies to maintain macroeconomic stability.”
Costa Rica’s objective is to stabilize country’s public debt and reach a primary surplus of 1% by 2023.
These are the law projects Costa Rica has agreed to as part of its IMF deal:
The Executive Branch summed 36 bills to the floor of the Legislative Assembly for debate, including three that relate to Costa Rica's negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Central American country's fiscal deficit reached 8.3% of GDP in 2020, the highest in the last four decades, although lower than the Central Bank's 9.2% projection.