Washington, United States, 1 March – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday in Washington (IMF) that it would provide Sao Tome and Principe with US$570,000, under the terms of the current agreement with the West African island nation.

This new payment , which takes the amount provided under the terms of this agreement to US$1.13 million, was provided after a review of the archipelago’s economic performance, despite not all targets being achieved.

The new agreement, approved by the board of the IMF in March 2009, is aimed at supporting the Sao Tome government’s economic plan for the three years up to 2011. The total amount of aid is US$3.97 million.

The IMF expects growth for this year in Sao Tome of 4.5 percent, as compared with 4 percent last year.

Inflation is expected to have been around 17.1 percent in 2009, and this year is expected to come in at 11.9 percent according to the latest figures from the World Economic Outlook.