St. George’s: The Directors of the International Monetary Fund have expressed solidarity and support for Grenada’s reconstruction efforts. In a statement sent to the Prime Minister’s Office and distributed throughout the region, the Directors of the IMF commended the Government of Grenada for its “timely reaction and willingness to move the reconstruction process and their reform agenda.” The statement noted that Grenada was the worse affected island by Ivan during the 2004 Hurricane season but that “the recovery since then has been impressive.” The Directors “expressed admiration for the enormous effort of the authorities in overcoming the devastating losses.” The report noted that Director Mirakhor of Iran believed that “while commending the international effort including that of the fund to marshal the resources for emergency assistance, suggested that the authorities deserve credit for managing the economy under these most daunting circumstances.” Director De Silva of Trinidad and Tobago “was encouraged that much of the tourism infrastructure is once more serviceable, and while current year growth will only be in the region of 1 percent, this would still be a noteworthy achievement, particularly, coming on the heels of a 3 percent contraction in 2004.” However, Director Srinivas of India warned that “despite the donor assurances and the revenue effort the financing gap remained large in the face of high reconstruction expenditure………the authorities would face enormous challenges for filling financing gaps.” Director Duquense of France “highlighted the importance of restoring debt sustainability and closing financing gaps, emphasising that this objective must remain a priority of the authorities.” The Directors noted that some fiscal measures introduced by Government have met with resistance from unions and opposition. However, they emphasised the need for opposition and unions and Government to work to build “social and political consensus for a course of action for recovery.” In his reaction to the statement Prime Minister Dr. The Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell welcomed the comments and concerns of the IMF Directors. He noted that the statement showed that the international community had enormous confidence in the Government of Grenada and were pleased with the course the Government was taking the country on. Source: Office of the Prime Minister