The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said Thursday they had resumed cooperation with Venezuela, which had been suspended since 2019.
The move paves the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years and could eventually unlock billions of dollars in financing through special drawing rights.
IMF Director General Kristalina Georgieva said in her statement that the Fund, guided by the opinion of many of its members, is now dealing with the government of Venezuela under the administration of the interim President of the South American nation, Delcy Rodriguez.
The World Bank Group also issued a statement and announced that it is resuming cooperation with the Venezuelan government under Rodriguez. His last loan, the statement said, was in 2005.
The restoration of official ties comes after the administration of US President Donald Trump in January ousted President Nicolas Maduro in an invasion of Caracas. Since then, Washington has been working with Rodriguez and is looking to expand the US presence in Venezuela’s oil and mining sector.
“This is a very important step for the Venezuelan economy,” Rodriguez said in a televised speech, thanking Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others, for their help in restoring relations with the IMF.
