IMF staff to visit Senegal this week, reflecting progress toward new program

By Reuters

A street food vendor pushes her cart near Kermel Market in downtown Dakar, Senegal, May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

WASHINGTON/DAKAR, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on ​Monday that its staff would visit the ‌West African country from August 19 to September 1 to continue discussions on policies and reforms that could ​be supported by a new lending arrangement.

The ​two-week visit by a full IMF team reflects ⁠progress toward a new lending program for ​Senegal, and will involve more technical discussions, said ​a source familiar with the discussions.

• On August 3, an IMF spokesperson told Reuters that “IMF staff stand ready to visit as ​soon as the authorities indicate they are ​prepared for the next phase of discussions.”
• The visit will be ‌the latest ⁠to help resolve a debt misreporting issue disclosed in 2024 that led to a freeze in the previous IMF program.
• Last week, Senegal’s minister-delegate for budget ​visited China, ​the country’s ⁠largest bilateral creditor, two sources told Reuters.
• Senegal and the IMF have been ​working on the debt issue since 2024, ​when ⁠the country’s then-newly elected leaders disclosed a far larger debt pile than previously reported.

Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina ⁠in ​Johannesburg, Andrea Shalal in Washington ​and Portia Crowe in Dakar; Additional reporting by Ruchika Khanna ​in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Winning and Edward Tobin

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