Barbados:Request for an Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility and Request for an Arrangement Under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility-Press Release; and Staff Report

Despite a series of economic shocks, Barbados has made good progress in implementing its Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan since the government led by Prime Minister Mia Mottley took office in May 2018. Macroeconomic stability was restored with a combination of comprehensive sovereign debt restructuring, fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms to reduce fiscal dominance and enhance growth. International reserves have increased to US$1.4 billion by end-September 2022 from a historical low of US$220 million in 2018. While fiscal consolidation was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, public debt was put back on a downward path starting in FY2021/22. Building on the successful completion of a 2018-22 Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the authorities have requested a successor EFF program along with a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to strengthen fiscal sustainability, support the structural reform agenda, and increase resilience to climate change.