Middle East and Central Asia > Mauritania, Islamic Republic of

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International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper highlights Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s First Reviews under the Arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), Requests for Modification of Performance Criteria and a Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criterion, and Request for an Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Mauritania’s economic reform program supported by the IMF ECF/EFF arrangements aims to preserve macroeconomic stability, strengthen the fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, consolidate the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth, and reduce poverty. Economic performance in 2022 has been positive, with robust real gross domestic product growth, decreasing inflation, and a narrowing current account deficit. Still, challenges related to infrastructure, governance, vulnerability to economic shocks and limited economic diversification constrain Mauritania’s economic development. The RSF arrangement will help build resilience to climate change and strengthen the policy framework to maximize synergies with other official financing and catalyze private financing. The RSF arrangement will support Mauritania’s efforts to strengthen its resilience to climate shocks, enhance its capacity to protect the vulnerable against climate shocks, and expedite the transition toward cleaner energy sources.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Volatile commodity prices and a tightly managed exchange rate (ER) have led to boom and bust cycles with significant impacts on the public and financial sectors. While the previous Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement (December 2017—March 2021) has helped maintain macroeconomic stability, the pandemic has delayed structural reform implementation and widened the gap to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, surging international commodity prices since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine have deteriorated the external and fiscal balances and led to inflationary pressures and food insecurity. In March 2021, the authorities requested a successor arrangement to support accelerated implementation of their national development strategy, help increase social and infrastructure spending, and improve governance and the business environment.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s 2022 Article IV Consultation and Requests for 42-Month Arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility. The Mauritanian authorities’ IMF-supported reform program presents a comprehensive policy package to preserve macroeconomic stability, strengthen the fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, and improve governance, to consolidate the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth, and reduce poverty. Mauritania’s economic growth has accelerated in 2022, driven primarily by the extractive sectors, while Inflation should stabilize at approximately 11 percent reflecting the central bank tight monetary policy. Mauritania has present and prospective balance of payments (BoP) needs while a confluence of shocks including the war in Ukraine and regional tensions have narrowed the space for policy intervention. The BoP needs could widen considering significant risks to the baseline including a protracted war in Ukraine, tensions in the Sahel region, climate shocks, increasing volatility in international commodity markets, and delays in the start of the Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim offshore gas project.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This selected issue paper discusses the desirable institutional and macro-financial conditions and optimal path toward greater exchange rate flexibility in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. It also identifies the macro-financial risks that arise and mitigation measures supporting a smooth transition and discusses reforms needed for a successful and smooth shift, including the need for an alternative nominal anchor and modern monetary policy framework, more developed financial markets, and resilient financial sector. Mauritania is a small economy exposed to terms-of-trade shocks. The current account deficit is volatile and sometimes sizeable. International reserves remained adequate until 2021 but are expected to fall around the adequacy threshold due to the negative external shock. A more flexible exchange rate would reduce the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks and preserve international reserves. Countries that are heavily reliant on a single commodity or a group of commodities need more exchange rate flexibility to respond to changes in world commodity prices and to mitigate their spillovers into other sectors.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a severe human, economic, and social impact on Mauritania. The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 2 percent in 2020 and the crisis generated large financing needs. The authorities responded swiftly to mitigate the impact of the pandemic while international partners provided grants, loans, and debt service suspension. This, compounded by higher commodity exports (iron ore and gold) and some delays in emergency spending, resulted in unexpected fiscal surpluses and an accumulation of international reserves, which may now be used to support the recovery in 2021–22. The outlook remains highly uncertain and dependent on volatile commodity markets, with sizable downside risks in case new waves of the pandemic spill over into Mauritania.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a severe human, economic, and social impact on Mauritania. The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 2 percent in 2020 and the crisis generated large financing needs. The authorities responded swiftly to mitigate the impact of the pandemic while international partners provided grants, loans, and debt service suspension. This, compounded by higher commodity exports (iron ore and gold) and some delays in emergency spending, resulted in unexpected fiscal surpluses and an accumulation of international reserves, which may now be used to support the recovery in 2021–22. The outlook remains highly uncertain and dependent on volatile commodity markets, with sizable downside risks in case new waves of the pandemic spill over into Mauritania.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Contexte. L’économie mauritanienne se heurte Ă  un choc majeur nĂ©gatif des termes de l’échange plus persistant qu’initialement prĂ©vu. Les faibles cours du minerai de fer ont ralenti la croissance et rĂ©duit les recettes d’exportation et les rĂ©serves internationales nettes, creusĂ© le dĂ©ficit budgĂ©taire et accru les risques pesant sur la stabilitĂ© financière. Ă€ l’inverse, le repli des cours du pĂ©trole a fourni un certain appui sur les plans extĂ©rieur et budgĂ©taire. Le taux de change a continuĂ© de s’apprĂ©cier en termes rĂ©els en 2015, allant ainsi Ă  l’encontre de l’évolution dĂ©favorable des termes de l’échange. L’impact de cette dĂ©tĂ©rioration est aggravĂ© par le manque de diversification de la production, les faiblesses structurelles et la marge de manÅ“uvre limitĂ©e des pouvoirs publics, compte tenu du niveau Ă©levĂ© de la dette publique et les tensions s’exerçant sur les volants extĂ©rieurs. Perspectives et risques. Les perspectives Ă©conomiques laissent entrevoir un rebond de l’activitĂ© Ă  4,1 % en 2016, mais elles sont sujettes Ă  des risques baissiers et l’économie reste vulnĂ©rable aux chocs exogènes. Ă€ moyen terme, les politiques courantes exerceront des tensions persistantes sur les rĂ©serves et aboutiront Ă  un niveau d’endettement Ă©levĂ© en raison des plans d’investissement public. Une activitĂ© Ă©conomique atone pourrait compromettre la capacitĂ© du secteur financier Ă  drainer le crĂ©dit vers le secteur privĂ© et, partant, nuire aux efforts visant Ă  promouvoir une croissance plus diversifiĂ©e et plus robuste. Ă€ court terme, l’économie se montre surtout vulnĂ©rable Ă  une montĂ©e des cours du brut, Ă  un repli des cours du minerai de fer.
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses the impact of the global economic slump on the Mauritanian economy, which faces a significant negative terms-of-trade shock that is more persistent than initially envisaged. The impact of the international shock is compounded by a narrow production base, structural weaknesses, and limited policy space related to elevated public debt and pressures on external buffers. The outlook sees a recovery in economic activity to 4.1 percent in 2016, but risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside. The present economic uncertainty has prompted Mauritania to call for an ambitious policy adjustment to diversify the economy and promote inclusive growth for a determined reform agenda.
International Monetary Fund
This paper focuses on the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s Sixth Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) and a Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion. Performance under the PRGF-supported program remained strong in 2002. All the quantitative and structural performance criteria and benchmarks were met except for the publication of the audit of the central bank accounts, which was delayed for technical reasons. The IMF staff commends the authorities for bringing to a successful conclusion the current PRGF Arrangement and for their impressive record on macroeconomic stability and structural reforms.