Angola seeks IMF assistance in wake of oil price dropApril 7, 2016 - 11:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil exporting Angola has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance, BBC News reports. A Finance Ministry statement said the government would work with the IMF to improve economic and financial stability. The IMF said it is ready to work with Angola to tackle the country's economic challenges. Discussions are expected to begin next week during the IMF's Spring meetings in Washington. Angola's economy is heavily dependent on oil. It accounts for more than 95% of export earnings and more than two-thirds of government revenue. International crude oil prices are now less than half the level they reached in mid-2014. Inevitably countries such as Angola where the oil industry dominates the economy have been hit hard. Angola's finance ministry suggests there has been significant diversification already. It says the share of oil in total economic activity has declined since the mid-1980s - markedly so according to its figures. The non-oil sector has gone from 40% of the economy then to just below 70% now. But there is no question oil is still central and it dominates exports and the government finances. In the short term, efforts to diversify the economy would focus on agriculture, fisheries and mining, the finance ministry said. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |