The Republic of Congo said on Thursday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had approved it for a global debt relief programme and pledged to do all it could to meet the plan's requirements, Reuters reported. The IMF decided on Wednesday that Congo had qualified for the global programme for poor countries, launched in 1996 and known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), Congo's Finance Minister, Pacific Issobeika, said. "The IMF said that Congo had made a lot of effort and reforms and taken palpable steps forward and that it was the right decision to place it at decision point (or HIPC entry point)," Issobeika told reporters in Brazzaville. "This is an important decision for our country. The success is above all for the Congolese people but Congo should not be intoxicated by this rise -- it should continue in its efforts to reach completion point," he said. The central African country had to make stronger efforts to ensure good governance and transparency, particularly in the management of its oil revenues, which add up to around $2 billion a year, Issobeika said. The World Bank said late last month its board had agreed in principle on an "approach" for Congo to eventually take part in the HIPC programme but imposed conditions, mainly improving transparency in oil revenue accounting.
