The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide a loan of about US$24 million to the Government of Guinea-Bissau after noting improvements in the country’s macroeconomic performance, said the head of the IMF mission to the African country, Felix Fisher.

Following two weeks of consultations with local authorities, Mr Fisher said he was pleased with the improvements and with the plans announced by the new Government, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.

Speaking in Bissau, Mr Fisher said that a final decision on the loan to Guinea-Bissau would only be formally taken at the meeting of the IMF board of directors, scheduled for July.

Mr Fisher, quoted by Lusa, said the loan would be granted in three instalments over as many years and noted that the factors that contributed to a better macroeconomic performance included the higher price of cashew nuts (the country’s main export product) and improvements in telecommunications and energy services.

The IMF estimates that Guinea-Bissau’s economy grew 2.5 percent in 2014 and expects it to grow 4.7 percent this year.