Liberia IMF deal could release $50m after board vote

The International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Liberia that could allow about $50 million to be disbursed if the IMF board approves the reviews in late September.

IMF Liberia mission chief Daehaeng Kim said IMF staff and Liberian authorities had agreed on the policies needed to complete the fourth review of Liberia’s three-year bailout program and the first review of a climate-related add-on program.

Liberia entered a three-year, $210 million IMF program in 2024. A climate-related loan program worth $265 million was added in April.

Kim said economic activity had remained robust and the outlook remained favourable despite a difficult external environment. The IMF expects Liberia’s real GDP growth to strengthen to 5.5 percent in 2026 and to remain near that level in the medium term.

The IMF also expects inflation to rise to six percent, partly because of the fallout of the US-Israel war on Iran. Economic growth in Liberia is mostly driven by mining, construction and manufacturing.

Liberia has about $21 million in existing IMF loans due for repayment this year, with repayments expected to rise in the near term to almost double by 2029.