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Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley met last week with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief, Michael Perks, and his team.
They had been in Barbados from February 25 to February 28 to review the country’s recent economic progress.
The team visited to prepare for the final review of Barbados’ Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility programmes.
Ms. Mottley, along with Finance Minister Ryan Straughn, Economic Affairs Minister Kay McConney, Central Bank Governor Dr. Kevin Greenidge, and other officials, heard from Mr. Perks that Barbados was making strong progress with its economic reforms.
At the meeting in Parliament, Mr. Perks said Barbados had met its economic targets for December 2024. The country’s financial performance was strong, with the primary balance reaching 5.3% of GDP by the end of December. This meant Barbados was on track to meet its fiscal target of 3.8% of GDP for the 2024/25 financial year.
He also said that structural reforms were moving forward, helped by IMF technical support. Improvements included better customs operations, stronger public-private partnership rules, and better forecasting at the Central Bank. The government was also making progress on its final Resilience and Sustainability Facility reforms.
Ms. Mottley gave an update on government efforts to improve social and economic conditions. These included education reforms, support for an ageing population, and plans to create senior citizen villages so elderly care could be managed within local communities.
She also spoke about the need to address skills shortages in key sectors and retrain finance officers in public service.
Mr. Perks praised Ms. Mottley’s team for the positive economic outlook, supported by growth in tourism, construction, and business services.
However, he warned that the government should strengthen its emergency plans to prepare for possible economic changes.
Source: Barbados GIS.
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