The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, will visit Ethiopia on February 8-9, where she will meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to discuss “ongoing reforms,” the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday.

In recent months, the government of this East African nation, home to approximately 120 million people, has implemented a series of economic reforms to attract investors, as the economy remains largely state-controlled.

In early January, Ethiopia launched its stock exchange. In late July, in a bid to secure an IMF loan, the country announced a major reform of its foreign exchange system, which had been heavily regulated, allowing commercial banks to set exchange rates freely.

Kristalina Georgieva, making her first visit to Ethiopia since assuming leadership of the IMF in 2019, “will meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and senior government officials to discuss the country’s economic outlook, policy priorities, and ongoing reforms,” the Finance Ministry stated in a press release.

In July, the IMF approved a $3.4 billion aid program for Ethiopia.

In October, the institution praised the country’s economic reform program, stating that it was “progressing well” and that “foreign currency availability has improved.”

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, recorded high economic growth rates—often exceeding 10% annually—between 2004 and 2019.

When Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, he pledged ambitious reforms.

However, the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the conflict in the northern Tigray region (estimated to have cost around $20 billion) have impacted the economy. Inflation soared to 33.9% in 2022 but has since declined to 23.9% last year and is expected to drop further to 13.3% by 2026.

Meanwhile, the country’s growth rate stood at 6.1% in 2024 and is projected to rise to 6.5% this year, according to IMF forecasts.