Opening remarks / Boštjan Jazbec, Giovanni Dell'Ariccia -- Panel 1, The coordination of monetary and fiscal policy principles and practical experience / chair: Nikolay Gueorguiev ; lead speaker: Steven Phillips ; panellists: Jan Smets, Lars Rohde, Dimitar Bogov, Nerses Yeritsyan -- Panel 2....

Belize has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a deep recession and worsened fiscal and external positions from already weak levels. The opposition People's United Party won the November 2020 elections by a wide margin, which gives the new government a unique opportunity to jump...

The Gambia is experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 cases. The vaccination campaign started in early March 2021, but the pace is slow, due to vaccine availability and hesitancy. Presidential and parliamentary elections are planned for December 2021 and April 2022, respectively

The WAEMU has, so far, demonstrated strong resilience to the Covid crisis. The economic rebound that started in the second half of 2020 firmed up in 2021, while fiscal and monetary policies remained supportive. External reserves have risen to comfortable levels and the financial system appears...