Afghanistan has made important achievements in recent years. The 2011 Article IV Consultation highlights that authorities have taken steps to lay the foundation for economic stability and growth, despite a very difficult security situation and the challenges associated with building political...

Angola’s economy was badly buffeted by the sharp drop in global oil prices. Policy discussions for the review focused on the 2011 budget, the handling of the arrears problem, monetary and exchange rate policies, and key elements of the authorities’ administrative and policy reform...

Kazakhstan’s economic recovery and unemployment rate and other issues are discussed in this paper. The banking and corporate sectors have not recovered from the crisis despite strong economic growth. Ownership and partial financing of the envisaged centralized distressed asset fund by the...

The Swaziland economy continues to suffer from the global economic crisis and an overvalued real exchange rate. The fiscal crisis is starting to affect external stability. Notwithstanding the fiscal crisis, banks continue to remain well capitalized and profitable. The 2011–12 budget...

Performance under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program has been mixed. The revenue slippage was addressed partially with corrective actions. IMF staff supports the authorities' request for a waiver of a missed performance criterion and recommends the completion of the first review. The...

Japan has responded swiftly to stabilize markets, and activity has begun to recover. The immediate priority is to repair damaged infrastructure and facilitate a swift recovery. Financial policies should protect against the risk of an economic slowdown and higher market volatility. Timely...

This consultation paper explains that several years of sound macroeconomic policies and political reforms have left Morocco well equipped to address the 2008 international crisis and to respond to pressing social demands. In this challenging environment, Morocco has performed well economically...

In this study, economic performance remained robust throughout the global downturn, and shows signs of further strengthening. In 2010, the external position improved significantly, as fiscal surpluses raised official foreign assets, and the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief...

The comprehensive program supported by the IMF, the European Union, and the World Bank has helped Romania in stabilizing its economy, reversing imbalances, rebuilding confidence of international financial markets, and setting a sustainable economic growth. Executive Directors appreciated the...