Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

A staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Norbert Toé visited Kinshasa from May 20 to June 3 to conduct discussions on the 2015 Article IV consultation with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The discussions covered economic and financial developments in 2014 and 2015 and the policies needed to preserve macroeconomic stability, build resilience, and foster inclusive growth as well as financial stability and inclusion.

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB), the World Bank Group*, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have met and even exceeded their commitments to make available at least EUR 30 billion in 2013 and 2014 to sustain growth and investment in Central and South Eastern Europe (CESEE)** following the global financial crisis.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and the World Bank will hold a high-level conference to present the strategic vision for the future of Romania’s agriculture and rural sector. The event will take place on June 3 in Bucharest at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan covering the period of April-December, 2015.

The World Bank has updated its economic outlook for Russia for 2015 and 2016 to reflect a further stabilization of global oil prices. The new most likely scenario is more optimistic and assumes an average oil price of US$58.0 per barrel for 2015 and of US$63.6 per barrel for 2016.

1 June 2015 - (From left) Francisco Galindo Vélez, Ambassador of El Salvador to France signing the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and William Danvers, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD. Standing, Carlos Cáceres, Minister for Finance of El Salvador and Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the OECD.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Dalia Hakura, Mission Chief for the Republic of Congo, visited Brazzaville during May 19-June 1, 2015 to conduct discussions for the 2015 Article IV review of the Congolese economy. Discussions focused on addressing macroeconomic policy challenges associated with the recent decline in oil prices and the medium-term reform agenda aimed at achieving the authorities’ strategic objectives of macroeconomic stability, sustained inclusive growth, and reducing poverty and inequality.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on June 1 an allocation of US$10 million to finance the Public Finance Management Modernization Project (PFM-2), which aims to improve the effectiveness and transparency of public financial management in Tajikistan. The United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) is co-financing the project in the amount of US$11 million, bringing the total project cost to US$21 million.

Germany is both the OECD’s second-largest country of immigration and one of the main origin countries of emigrants: 3.4 million people born in Germany were living in another OECD country in 2011, says a new OECD report Talent Abroad: A Review of German Emigrants. This number corresponds to the population of Berlin. It places the German diaspora fifth after Mexico and the United Kingdom, and only slightly behind China and India. The largest groups of German emigrants live in the United States (1.1 million), the United Kingdom and Switzerland (270 000 each). Large numbers are also counted in France, Italy and Spain.

The decline in oil prices is resulting in substantially lower export and fiscal revenues, but the effect on the rest of the economy has so far been limited. Real GDP growth is projected by IMF staff at a healthy 3.5 percent this year, unchanged from 2014, with an increase in oil production and continued government spending expected to support the economy.