Speaking at a press conference, hosted at the ministry's headquarters, on the conclusions of the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in which he took part last week last in Washington (United States), at the head of a delegation from his ministerial department, Mr. Faid specified that “the Algerian economy achieved growth of 4.1% in 2023”, which “almost corresponds to IMF forecasts," he said.
This growth results from the robust performance of several national economic sectors, said Mr. Faid, highlighting the good indicators achieved thanks to “the efforts made by the public authorities”.
In this context, he indicated that the balance of payments had posted a surplus of USD 6.53 billion in 2023 and that foreign exchange reserves had increased from USD 61 billion in 2022 to USD 69 billion in 2023, i.e. the equivalent of 16 months of merchandise imports.
Exports, for their part, fell to 49 billion USD in 2023, against 56 billion USD in 2022, under the effect of the fall in oil prices on international markets, added the minister, reporting a debt quasi-stable public sector not exceeding 48% of GDP in 2023.
Regarding inflation, Mr. Faid said that it had recorded a slowdown due to the drop in prices of fresh products, stressing that the public authorities were working to stabilize the inflation indicator.
He affirmed that these results had been evaluated positively by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which attests, he said, to the "effectiveness of the national economic policy."
For 2024, the Minister of Finance forecasts economic growth of 3.8%, supported by an increase in public spending.