<\/p>\n
The agreement covers economic policies and reforms required to complete the first review of Rwanda\u2019s Extended Credit Facility arrangement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It remains subject to approval by IMF Management and the Executive Board, which is expected to consider the review in December. \u201cThe Rwandan authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on the economic policies and reforms needed to complete the first review,\u201d IMF Mission Chief for Rwanda Albert Touna Mama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rwanda\u2019s economy grew by 9.7% during the first half of 2026 despite recent global and domestic shocks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Strong exports and remittance inflows helped narrow the current-account deficit, while foreign-exchange reserves remained sufficient to cover about four months of imports.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The depreciation of the Rwandan franc also moderated. However, inflation reached 15.7% in August, remaining substantially above the National Bank of Rwanda\u2019s medium-term target of 5%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF attributed the increase to existing price pressures and higher international oil and fertiliser prices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All quantitative programme targets for the end of June were met. Rwanda also advanced reforms aimed at strengthening the investment framework and deepening domestic securities and foreign-exchange markets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fiscal performance remained strong, with the deficit falling to 4.8% during the 2025\/26 financial year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tax collection exceeded expectations, while passing higher international costs through to pump prices limited government fuel subsidies. \u201cSustained fiscal consolidation will be critical to preserve a moderate risk of debt distress and rebuild policy buffers,\u201d Touna Mama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF called for stronger domestic revenue collection, careful prioritisation of foreign-financed capital projects and continued protection of social and other priority spending.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Economic growth is projected at 7.8% in 2026 before moderating to 7% in 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Risks include volatile commodity prices, geopolitical tensions, tighter global financing conditions and El Ni\u00f1o-related climate shocks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said Rwanda\u2019s new petroleum procurement framework could improve fuel security and make purchasing costs more competitive.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The National Bank of Rwanda has tightened monetary policy in response to elevated inflation. \u201cAn appropriately tight, data-driven monetary policy stance remains important,\u201d Touna Mama said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The approach should prevent price increases from spreading more broadly and guide inflation towards the central bank\u2019s 5% target.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43487,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-47391","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Rwanda has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that could unlock about $35.7 million under an existing financing programme.","published_date":"","news_description":"Rwanda has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that could unlock about $35.7 million under an existing financing programme.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47392,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/47391\/revisions\/47392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=47391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}