The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that visited Mozambique yesterday called the talks with the government to approve the second revision of the financial program with the country "constructive and fruitful".

The IMF delegation led by Pablo Lopez Murphy ended a visit to the country on Friday, which had taken place since April 24, and the discussions in the context of the second review will continue in virtual format and through the office of the IMF resident representative in Maputo.

During their visit to Mozambique, the IMF team met with the Prime Minister, Adriano Maleiane, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, among others.

To this end, the delegation said in a statement that "the IMF team has held constructive and fruitful talks with the Mozambican authorities on economic and financial policies to support the approval of the second review of the program under the ECF (Extended Credit Facility) agreement".

In a document released on Saturday, the IMF staff said that "Mozambique's economic recovery has gained momentum" after covid-19, with growth of 4.1% in 2022 and a forecast of 5% this year, partly thanks to natural gas.

The IMF team therefore encouraged the government to pursue additional measures to reduce the annual wage bill to its approved budget level, a point it considers fundamental to safeguarding fiscal and macro sustainability.

"The government has made relatively steady progress on the structural reforms" that are part of the IMF-funded program, but believes there is "room for eliminating more VAT exemptions that don't affect the most vulnerable".