The International Monetary Fund announced on Saturday that it had reached an agreement during its annual meetings held in Marrakesh this week to increase financing shares by the end of the year and adopt a new seat for the African continent.
The head of the Fund Committee, Spanish Minister of Finance Nadia Calvino, explained during a joint press conference held on Saturday with the Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva , “There was an agreement on a significant increase in quotas by the end of the current year.”
She stressed, “This is an essential point for us to have an International Monetary Fund that relies on strong quotas with appropriate resources that ensure financial stability , which also allows for better support for the most vulnerable countries.”
The quotas, which are based on each country’s economic performance, determine the value of the money it should provide to the International Monetary Fund , its weight in the voting process, and the ceiling of the loans it can obtain.
On the other hand, Calvino confirmed that an agreement had been reached “to continue to strengthen the voice and representation of Sub-Saharan Africa . We have agreed on a twenty-fifth meeting in the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund for the benefit of Sub-Saharan Africa .”
This will be the third seat for Sub-Saharan Africa on the Executive Council.
This measure is expected to take effect after a year. The World Bank has taken this step since 2014.
Commenting on the granting of this seat, Georgieva said, “What pleased me very much was the full support for a third African seat on our Executive Council. This is important for the meetings that take place on African soil. Despite the difficulties, I can only praise the members for taking the path of solidarity on which hundreds of millions of people depend.”
Georgieva also listed the four main goals achieved by the Marrakesh meetings, including “the priority of making the Fund financially stronger in terms of our ability to contribute if we are exposed to an additional shock.”
She stressed, “It is very pleasing to see the members agree to complete the review of Chapter Sixteen with a significant increase in quotas.”
In response to a question about when to change the size of members’ votes in the International Monetary Fund, Georgieva said, “The members agreed that this would be the next step and that there would be a clear path and plan to reach this goal.”
