Washington (AFP)
The International Monetary Fund approved Friday the payment of $ 643 million in emergency aid to Ecuador, hit by the coronavirus epidemic but also by the drop in oil prices.
The Minister of Finance and Economy of the Central American state said in a statement that the loan had been obtained under "favorable conditions" with an interest rate of 1.05%.
According to the World Health Organization, Ecuador has declared 24,000 cases of Covid-19, and the death of 900 people, which has caused a particularly strong health emergency in the country's economic capital, Guayaquil.
The IMF predicts a 6.3% drop in the country's GDP for 2020.
"This funding will provide the liquidity necessary to boost production and employment," added the minister in the press release.
This IMF emergency assistance is in addition to a three-year economic assistance program granted by the international agency to the government of Lenin Moreno in 2019. This $ 4.2 billion loan involved a series of cuts and budget adjustments that sparked a protest in October 2019, when the government raised fuel prices.
© 2020 AFP