ALGIERS (UNA) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Algeria has taken a set of measures to limit the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its economy. The head of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, Genevieve Verdier, who headed the IMF mission to Algeria, explained that among the measures taken to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the economy are postponing tax payments, increasing health spending, disbursing unemployment benefits, immediate transfers to low-income households, reducing the central bank’s guiding interest rate and the mandatory reserve ratio, and easing precautionary rules applied to banks. Verdier indicated that the pandemic has once again revealed the fragility of the Algerian economy. The IMF mission had held remote dialogues from September 13 to October 3 with several Algerian officials, including the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Ayman Benabderrahmane. (End)
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