The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday announced that it now recognised the new Federal Government of Somalia, which took office in September last year, paving the way for the resumption of relations after a 22-year interlude.
Recognition of the government, which is headed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, would allow the IMF to offer Somalia technical assistance and policy advice.
Somalia, an IMF member since August 1962, had been in a state of civil war since the early 1990s, leaving no government with which the IMF could deal. The Transitional Federal Government was the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Somalia until the new Federal Government was inaugurated late last year.
The IMF indicated that the new administration had since enjoyed considerable support from the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as various other IMF member countries.
However, Somalia was currently ineligible to borrow from the IMF, owing to its outstanding arrears, which amounted to about $352-million.