Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed said on Friday that Ethiopia will receive $ 3 billion from the World Bank to support reforms in its traditionally state-controlled economy.
The International Monetary Fund said two days ago that it had reached a preliminary agreement on a three-year financing package worth $ 2.9 billion to support economic reforms in Ethiopia.
Abe did not provide further details about the financing provided by the World Bank. But he said on his Twitter account that the development partners he did not name had pledged more than $ 3 billion in addition to the funding provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He added that the money will go to structural and sectoral reforms aimed at the macro economy.
“This reaffirms the partnership between the government and donors to transform Ethiopia into a prosperous and peaceful country,” he wrote.
The Ethiopian Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Ayoub Tolina, did not say when the World Bank’s money would come, but he told Reuters that the bank’s loan would be disbursed as soon as it was approved for three years as well.
The bank’s office in Ethiopia did not reply to letters requesting comment.
Abe had pledged to open the economy to private investment when he took over as prime minister in 2018, aiming to modernize the banking and telecommunications sectors and help provide employment opportunities for Ethiopia’s population of more than 105 million people.