WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund officially recognized the Somali government on Friday, ending a hiatus of 22 years and allowing the Fund to provide economic policy advice to Somalia. "The decision is consistent with broad international support and recognition of the federal government," the IMF said in a statement. It said, however, that it will not be able to lend to Somalia until the government clears $352 million in debt it owes to the IMF. Donors have slowly been re-engaging with the Mogadishu government since the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud last year in the first vote of its kind since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)