Seychelles Meets All IMF Quantitative Performance Criteria in Fourth Review
VICTORIA, Seychelles — Vice President Ahmed Afif, who is responsible for the finance portfolio, has said the country is happy to have been able to achieve all targets set by the International Monetary Fund on the fourth review agreement under the Extended Fund Facility and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangements. The Vice President made the statement during a press conference held yesterday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade, Liberty House, Victoria.
Present were IMF mission chief for Seychelles Todd Schneider, the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Caroline Abel, the Secretary of State for Finance Patrick Payet, as well as staff from both the ministry and the Central Bank. The press conference followed the staff-level agreement reached between Seychelles and the IMF on the fourth review, releasing US$4.7 million in funding for continued macro-economic reform.
Mr Schneider noted that fiscal performance in 2024 was tighter than budgeted, with the primary surplus reaching 4.5 percent of GDP as budget execution improved. Tourism arrivals are projected to cool in the second half of the year but will be partially offset by lower international oil prices. The Central Bank, he said, will continue to seek ways to increase foreign exchange reserves further, including by purchasing excess foreign exchange from the local market.
