On Monday 29 last Monday, the Central Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) announced a major reform of the country's ultra-controlled exchange rate regime. It has obtained the validation by the IMF of an aid program of 3.4 billion dollars (3.1 billion euros) in its favor.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has validated the envelope, which will last four years and results in the immediate payment of a first installment of one billion dollars (924 million euros). Ethiopia now allows commercial banks to freely set the exchange rate of the national currency, the birr, and is lifting some restrictions on access to currencies. The Washington-based institution called for numerous reforms in Addis Ababa in Addis Ababa in its still largely managed economy. According to analysts, the Washington-based institution was calling for numerous reforms in Addis Ababa in its still largely managed economy. The birr's buoyancy, which the Ethiopian authorities were reluctant to do, was one of the sticking points in

In a statement released on Monday, the NBE announced “the transition to a market-based exchange regime, in which banks are now allowed to sell and buy foreign currency to and among their customers at freely negotiated rates.”