Addis Ababa, Feb 10 (IANS): International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has praised Ethiopia's "strong progress" in its homegrown economic reform program.

Georgieva, who arrived Saturday in Addis Ababa on a two-day official visit, met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide, governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia Mamo Mihretu, and Minister of Planning and Development Fitsum Assefa, and other senior Ethiopian officials, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It was great to meet Ethiopian PM to discuss Ethiopia's impressive economic performance," she said in a post on social media. "I saw here in Addis Ababa the signs of a vibrant private sector-led market economy, and I'm delighted the IMF is a partner for the government's homegrown reform agenda."

After meeting Georgieva, Abiy said Ethiopia's macroeconomic reform program, which is supported by one of the IMF's largest financing programs, is based on a homegrown vision and reform agenda that clearly articulates the country's growth and development aspirations.

"We value the IMF's continued technical and financial support, as well as your (Georgieva's) personal efforts and contributions to our economic reform program," Abiy said in a social media post. "We have taken decisive, comprehensive, and historic steps to overcome long-standing macroeconomic challenges."

Abiy said the results of the program are positive and encouraging so far. He said the government's ongoing implementation efforts are aimed at achieving macroeconomic stability, accelerating growth, and improving the living standards of citizens, thereby enabling Ethiopia to become a model of prosperity in Africa.

The IMF chief, who also held discussions with Ethiopian business leaders, said recent reforms are clearly helping improve the investment climate, urging Ethiopia to keep momentum with an efficient and predictable tax and regulatory environment that will pave the way for strong private-sector growth.

According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, the high-level meetings mainly focused on the country's ongoing economic reforms, the support provided by the IMF, and prospects for continued collaboration to advance the country's economic agenda.

The IMF chief also visited socio-economic development initiatives, including a women's rehabilitation center and a boarding school for the blind in Addis Ababa. She said such initiatives "show how well-targeted social spending can create opportunities and transform lives."

In July last year, the IMF approved a 48-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Ethiopia, at about $3.4 billion to support Ethiopia's Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda, with the aim of addressing macroeconomic imbalances, restoring external debt sustainability, and laying the foundations for higher, inclusive, and private sector-led growth.

Homegrown Economic Reform is Ethiopia's economic reform blueprint aiming to make the country "the African icon of prosperity by 2030."

In October 2024, the Ethiopian government announced an 8.4 per cent economic growth target for the current 2024/2025 Ethiopian fiscal year, amid positive prospects in the agricultural, manufacturing, mining, and other major economic sectors.

Ethiopia is the second-most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, with a population of about 126.5 million, according to the World Bank.