ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast: Eight West African countries Saturday agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France.
The CFA franc was initially pegged to the French franc and has been linked to the euro for about two decades.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency. All the countries are former French colonies with the exception of Guinea-Bissau.
The announcement was made Saturday during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer and France’s former main colony in West Africa.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, speaking in the country’s economic capital Abidjan, announced “three major changes.”
These included “a change of name” of the currency, he said, adding that the others would be “stopping holding 50 percent of the reserves in the French Treasury” and the “withdrawal of French governance” in any aspect related to the currency.
Macron hailed it as a “historic reform,” adding: “The Eco will see the light of day in 2020.”
The deal took six months in the making, a French source said.
The CFA franc’s value was moored to the euro after its introduction two decades ago, at a fixed rate of 655.96 CFA francs to one euro.
The Bank of France holds half of the currency’s total reserves, but France does not make money on its deposits stewardship, annually paying a ceiling interest rate of 0.75 percent to member states.
The arrangement guarantees unlimited convertibility of CFA francs into euros and facilitates inter-zone transfers.
CFA notes and coins are printed and minted at a Bank of France facility in the southern town of Chamalieres.
The CFA franc, created in 1945, was seen by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies even after the countries became independent.
The Economic Community of West African States regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, earlier Saturday urged members to push on with efforts to establish a common currency, optimistically slated to launch next year.
The bloc insists it is aiming to have the Eco in place in 2020, but almost none of the 15 countries in the group currently meet criteria to join.
ECOWAS “urges member states to continue efforts to meet the convergence criteria,” commission chief Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said after a summit of regional leaders in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
The key demands for entry are to have a deficit of less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, inflation of 10 percent or under and debts worth less than 70 percent of GDP.
Economists say they understand the thinking behind the currency plan but believe it is unrealistic and could even be dangerous for the region’s economies which are dominated by one single country, Nigeria, which accounts for two-thirds of the region’s economic output.
Nigeria’s Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed told AFP “there’s still more work that we need to do individually to meet the convergence criteria.”
ECOWAS was set up in 1975 and comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo — representing a total population of around 385 million.
Eight of them currently use the CFA franc, moored to the single European currency and gathered in an organization called the West African Monetary Union, or WAMU.
But the seven other ECOWAS countries have their own currencies, none of them freely convertible.
West African nations rename common currency, sever its links to France
https://arab.news/c6hhf
West African nations rename common currency, sever its links to France
- Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the CFA franc
- The Bank of France holds half of the currency’s total reserves
IMF approves $2.3bn for Egypt amid recovery, as lender reengages with Syria’s resurgent economy
RIYADH: The International Monetary Fund has approved the disbursement of $2.3 billion to Egypt following the completion of combined reviews under its Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The lender announced on Feb. 25 that the funds, comprising about $2 billion under the EFF and $273 million under the RSF, will support the country’s ongoing stabilization efforts.
The approval extends Egypt’s 46-month EFF arrangement to Dec. 15, and brings total disbursements under the program to roughly $5.2 billion.
The move will bolster the engine of the Arab world’s third-largest economy. With a population exceeding 112 million and a nominal gross domestic product of roughly $400 billion, Egypt’s economic stability is crucial for the region.
The country’s consumer market and strategic position, anchored by the Suez Canal, make its fiscal health a leader for emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the IMF, Egypt’s macroeconomic landscape has shown marked improvement as policy measures take hold.
Real GDP growth accelerated to 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2024-2025, driven by a broad-based recovery. Inflation has cooled significantly to 11.9 percent as of January, supported by tight monetary and fiscal policies.
Nigel Clarke, IMF deputy managing director and chair, said: “The authorities’ stabilization measures continue to take effect. However, further progress on deeper reforms, particularly in divestment in non-strategic sectors and debt management, is needed to reduce risks to attaining key program objectives.”
The external position has also strengthened considerably. The current account deficit narrowed to 4.2 percent of GDP, buoyed by robust remittances and tourism revenues.
Market confidence has rebounded, evidenced by successful international bond issuances, foreign direct investment inflows, and record non-resident investments in domestic debt markets.
This has helped swell gross international reserves to approximately $59.2 billion as of December, up from $54.9 billion a year earlier.
The IMF noted that progress on deeper structural reforms has been “uneven.” While macroeconomic stability has improved, efforts to reduce the state’s economic footprint, particularly regarding the divestment of state-owned assets, have lagged behind targets.
Clarke emphasized the need for sustained domestic revenue mobilization, maintaining exchange rate flexibility, and decisive efforts to reduce state dominance to crowd in private investment and secure durable, inclusive growth.
Separately, the Washington-based lender said Syria’s economy is “continuing to recover” following a staff visit to Damascus, signaling deeper engagement with the country.
An IMF team led by Ron van Rooden visited the Syrian capital from Feb. 15 to 19 to assess the economic situation and discuss reform priorities. It was the latest in a series of intensive engagements as Syria reintegrates regionally following years of isolation.
“Activity has picked up further in recent months, supported by improved consumer and investor sentiment, the continuing return of refugees, increased electricity provision and rainfall, and Syria’s steady regional reintegration,” Rooden said in a statement.
Preliminary data indicate the central government budget ended 2025 with a small surplus, a feat attributed to prudent spending and the Ministry of Finance refraining from central bank financing, a significant shift from previous years.
Inflation has slowed to the “low double digits” by the end of 2025, supported by a tight monetary stance.
The IMF said that Syria has prepared a 2026 budget aimed at increasing spending on healthcare, education, and infrastructure rehabilitation. It stressed that while revenue targets are ambitious, the budget includes safeguards should financing fall short.
The fund agreed to an extensive technical assistance program to support Syria’s economic rehabilitation. This includes capacity building in public financial management, revenue mobilization, and banking sector supervision.
The IMF noted that improving statistics and economic governance could help “pave the way for the resumption of Article IV consultations with Syria,” the Fund’s regular health check of member economies, which have been suspended for years.
IMF staff will continue to work together with multilateral, regional, and bilateral donors to support the authorities’ capacity building efforts, Rooden added.
