U.S. in Talks With IMF on South Sudan Aid After Peace Deal
- Donors discussing aid needed to restore economic stability
- Assistance seeks to boost prospective transitional government
South Sudanese SPLA soldiers inspect a burned car in Pageri, Eastern Equatoria state, on August 20, 2015.
Photographer: Samir Bol/AFP/Getty ImagesThe U.S. and the International Monetary Fund are discussing a rescue package for South Sudan to help rebuild the economy after almost two years of war, a U.S. envoy said.
Officials are in talks over the extent of the financial assistance required to restore macroeconomic stability to the oil-producing nation, U.S. Special Envoy to South Sudan Donald Booth said Monday by phone from New York. South Sudan’s economy is projected to contract 7.5 percent this year, while the deficit on its 10.6 billion-pound ($3.6 billion) budget is expected to widen to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product from 3.7 percent last year, according to the African Development Bank.