Government is officially winding up its latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrangements, but the institution will continue to have a resident representative on island for now.
Patrick Blagrave, IMF resident representative to Barbados since August 2023, confirmed that the office for Barbados, which is located in the Tom Adams Financial Centre in Bridgetown, “will remain open in the near term”.
“Following the conclusion of many IMF programme engagements, resident representative offices generally remain open for some time. As indicated by the Government of Barbados, the strong relationship with the IMF is expected to continue,” he said.
“In that context, the office here will continue to fulfil its duties as outlined above, irrespective of the specific nature of the future engagement with the Government.”
In September 2019 when the Jamaica government announced the completion of its arrangements with the IMF, officials said while the programme was scheduled to officially end in November that year, the country would continue to benefit from technical assistance, and the Jamaica office was maintained for an additional two years.
The Canadian economist, who is a former macroeconomics adviser at the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre in Barbados, noted that the resident representative office here “provides a key communications link between the IMF in Washington DC and the Government of Barbados, and helps to coordinate IMF technical assistance missions which support Barbados’ objectives outlined under their home-grown Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan.
“The office is also a source of information about IMF views for the public, local and foreign analysts, investors, academic and research institutions, and Barbados’ international partners and their diplomatic missions,” he said.
At a press conference with IMF officials, including Blagrave and Barbados mission chief Michael Perks, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced that while the country’s IMF programme was ended, Government would keep its relationship with the Fund open.
“We will discuss with the Social Partnership what that relationship
should be. It is at this stage likely to be what I call speed dial standby, what they call precautionary standby,” she said.
Future engagement
Further, in a May 29 letter of intent to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, as shared in the Fund’s new country report for Barbados, Mottley stated: “Looking ahead, we will maintain our strong relationship with the Fund and intend to decide on the specific form of future engagement, once we have developed the third phase of our homegrown BERT plan.”
In a separate statement in the report, Gina Fitzgerald, IMF alternate executive director for Barbados, and Ann Marie Wickham, senior adviser to the executive director, also said that “looking ahead, our authorities intend to maintain a close and constructive relationship with the Fund recognising its vital role as a trusted policy partner in an increasingly uncertain global environment”.
Fitzgerald and Wickham also pointed out that Government was “preparing BERT 2025 as the next phase of their national reform strategy, building on the foundations laid” under the External Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
“As the third generation reform strategy, BERT 2025 will consolidate the hard-won gains of the past six years while advancing a forward-looking agenda focused on resilience, competitiveness and inclusive growth,” they said.
“The new strategy will deepen structural reforms across key areas, including public financial management, tax administration, state-owned enterprises reform and digital transformation.
“BERT 2025 will also scale up investment in climate adaptation, strengthen fiscal sustainability, and support a modernised monetary policy framework and digital financial ecosystem.
“Anchored in the Barbados 2035 Vision, this next phase reflects the authorities’ continued commitment to delivering sustainable development and economic opportunities for all Barbadians,” Fitzgerald and Wickham said. (SC)
