• An IMF delegation completed a 10-day mission in Libreville to review Gabon’s economic situation.
• The institution welcomed recent reforms but urged continued fiscal and governance efforts.
• Gabon hopes to reach a new agreement with the IMF by May after a three-year suspension.

An International Monetary Fund delegation led by Aliona Cebotari concluded a 10-day mission in Libreville on Friday, March 6 to assess Gabon’s economic and financial situation.

Following meetings with Gabonese authorities, the IMF welcomed the reforms undertaken in recent months to improve public financial management, governance, the business climate, and anti-corruption efforts, the institution said in its end-of-mission statement.

Cebotari stressed that these efforts must continue, highlighting the “critical importance of prudent fiscal and financial policies to preserve macroeconomic stability in Gabon and in the region.”

The assessment is seen as encouraging for Libreville, which hopes to reach a new economic and financial agreement with the IMF by May after three years without a program.

For the Gabonese authorities, such an arrangement is viewed as a strategic priority. Beyond technical support, it would help strengthen the country’s credibility with financial partners and support the implementation of its national economic transformation program.

In its statement, the IMF said discussions will continue in the coming weeks, particularly during the institution’s Spring Meetings scheduled for April.

Gabon’s last agreement with the IMF, approved in August 2021 under the Extended Credit Facility, was suspended after the program’s third review failed due to implementation challenges.

Talks between Libreville and the IMF resumed in 2025. They were later paused by Gabonese authorities, who sought to reconsider the framework of cooperation in order to better align it with the country’s economic realities. Former Economy Minister Henri-Claude Oyima had argued for a shift in approach, noting that Gabon had already signed 17 programs with the IMF without achieving significant results in terms of economic growth.

Sandrine Gaingne