IMF And World Bank Resume Dealings With Venezuela Under Interim President Delcy Rodriguez

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced they are resuming dealings with Venezuela after a long suspension tied to government recognition issues, with the IMF and World Bank each saying they are now dealing with the government under interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have announced the resumption of ties with Venezuela under the Latin American nation’s interim leader”

Al Jazeera

The South China Morning Post reported that the IMF and the World Bank said on Thursday they had resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019, and said the move could pave the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years.

Al Jazeera

The Straits Times similarly said the IMF and World Bank on April 16 each resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019 due to government recognition issues, and it described the potential for “billions of dollars in funding via frozen special drawing rights.”

The DW account said the IMF and World Bank announced Thursday they had resumed dealings with Venezuela after a “seven-year pause over government recognition issues,” and it described the institutional recognition as clearing the way for “a full IMF assessment of the Venezuelan economy.”

In the Tasnim account, acting President Delcy Rodriguez said Venezuela had resumed relations with the IMF after years of suspension, and it said the World Bank Group also issued a statement resuming dealings with Venezuela’s government under Rodriguez.

Multiple outlets tied the decision to the IMF’s internal process of polling members and to the IMF’s statement that it was “now dealing with the Government of Venezuela, under the administration of acting President Delcy Rodriguez.”

The DW report also emphasized that the World Bank followed suit, and it said Venezuela has been a World Bank member since 1946.

The restoration of formal engagement came after a political rupture in Venezuela that multiple outlets tied to the IMF and World Bank’s earlier suspension in 2019.

The DW report said relations collapsed in 2019 when the IMF recognized the opposition, which controlled the parliament, as the legitimate government, and it framed Thursday’s move as a change in institutional recognition.

Bernama

The Al Jazeera account said the Washington, DC-based financial institutions severed ties with Caracas in 2019 amid a split over whether to support Nicolas Maduro or Juan Guaido after disputed presidential elections, and it described Thursday’s announcements as coming under interim leader Delcy Rodriguez.

The South China Morning Post described the move as following the January ouster of Nicolas Maduro and said it could unlock billions in frozen assets for the Rodriguez administration.

The Straits Times also said the resumption came after the US President Donald Trump’s administration in January ousted President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on Caracas, and it added that Washington has been working with Rodriguez and is looking to expand the US presence in Venezuela’s oil and mining sectors.

DW likewise said Thursday’s move comes after the Trump administration in January deposed President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, with US forces conducting a raid on Venezuela’s capital Caracas.

The Bernama report said the IMF suspended dealings with Venezuela in March 2019 due to disputes over the international recognition of its government, and it said that after months of heightened tensions, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3.

In the AFP-derived wicz report, the institutions and Venezuela broke up financially long before their political divorce, and it said the last formal assessment by the IMF was in 2004 and Caracas cleared its World Bank tab in 2007, while Rodriguez had been vice president until early January when US forces captured Maduro and Rodriguez was subsequently made interim president.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and interim President Delcy Rodriguez both framed the decision as a step toward re-engaging with Venezuela through institutional channels.

“IMF and World Bank Resume Dealings with Venezuela The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have restarted relations with Venezuela, ending a pause since 2019 due to government recognition issues”

Devdiscourse

The DW report quoted the IMF’s statement that “Guided by the views of International Monetary Fund members representing a majority of the IMF's total voting power, and consistent with long standing practice, the Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva today announced that the IMF is now dealing with the Government of Venezuela, under the administration of acting President Delcy Rodriguez.”

In the South China Morning Post, Georgieva said in a statement that the Fund, guided by the views of a majority of its members, was now dealing with Venezuela’s government under interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

The Straits Times also said Georgieva made a statement that the fund was now dealing with Venezuela’s government under Rodriguez, and it added that the World Bank Group also issued a statement announcing it was resuming dealings with Venezuela’s government under Rodriguez.

Rodriguez responded publicly on state television, and DW quoted her saying, “We have resumed Venezuela's representation in this international organization...we are normalizing all processes that involve Venezuela's rights in the organization.”

The South China Morning Post quoted Rodriguez saying, “This is a very important step for the Venezuelan economy,” and it said she thanked Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as others, for their help in normalising the relationship with the IMF.

Al Jazeera similarly quoted Georgieva as saying, “This important step, guided by the views of our members, allows the Fund to re‑engage in a way that can ultimately benefit the Venezuelan people,” and it quoted Rodriguez as saying, “It has been a great achievement of Venezuelan diplomacy, and I want to thank all the countries and governments that joined in this push for Venezuela’s return to the IMF.”

The wicz report added that Rodriguez said on Venezuelan state television, “We are normalizing all processes that involve Venezuela's rights in the organization,” and it described the IMF polling process on whether members saw Rodriguez as the legitimate leader.

The outlets connected the renewed engagement to specific funding mechanisms and to the prospect of debt restructuring, while also laying out figures for Venezuela’s debt and for special drawing rights.

The Straits Times said JPMorgan has estimated that Venezuela’s special drawing rights, assets that are available to countries with engagement with the IMF, are worth US$5 billion, and it said analysts estimate that Venezuela has about US$60 billion (S$76.3 billion) of defaulted bonds outstanding.

DW

It further said total external debt is pegged at roughly US$150 billion to US$170 billion, and it described how a full sovereign restructuring is typically underpinned by a new IMF lending programme.

The Laodong.vn report similarly said JPMorgan estimates Venezuela's special capital withdrawal right value at about 5 billion USD, and it said it is estimated that Venezuela has about 60 billion USD of defaulted bonds while total foreign debt ranges from 150 to 170 billion USD.

The South China Morning Post said the move could eventually unlock billions of dollars in funding via frozen special drawing rights, and it described the path as paving the way for a full IMF assessment for the first time in some 20 years.

The Al Jazeera account said the moves clear the way for Venezuela to request financial assistance from the international lenders if Caracas deems it to be necessary to shore up the nation’s straitened finances, and it said the Latin American country has one of the highest debt burdens in the world with total external liabilities estimated at more than $150bn.

The wicz report added that the restoration of relations paves the way for the institutions to formally begin economic data-gathering, provide technical advice, and to potentially offer financial support if Venezuela were to ask for it.

In the same AFP-derived account, Henry Ziemer at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told AFP that “the institutional recognition is, I think, an important next step -- going beyond the personal to the institutional,” and he said, “I think as many green lights is good, I should say necessary for foreign direct investment to start flowing into Venezuela,” while noting that the security situation was still fragile.

Beyond the immediate resumption, the sources describe a sequence of steps that could shape Venezuela’s access to capital and investor confidence, while also highlighting the political and sanctions environment around the interim government.

“Venezuela resumes relations with WB, IMF The new move paves the way for economic assessment, unlocks capital sources and expectations for debt restructuring for Venezuela”

Laodong.vn

The Straits Times said the IMF in March said it was beginning to re-engage with Venezuela, starting by collecting basic data and assessing the economy after years of gaps, and it said a full sovereign restructuring is typically underpinned by a new IMF lending programme.

Laodong.vn

The wicz report similarly said recognition by both institutions paves the way for them to formally begin economic data-gathering, provide technical advice, and to potentially offer financial support if Venezuela were to ask for it, and it described the institutions and Venezuela breaking up financially in March 2019 when the Fund recognized the country’s opposition controlled by parliament.

It also said the announcement comes during the week-long IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington that has drawn thousands of government officials, economists, investors and observers.

The AFP-derived account tied the broader environment to US actions, saying on Tuesday Washington eased sanctions on the Venezuelan Central Bank, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previewed this decision, saying the Fund was “working on bringing Venezuela back in, to make it look more like a normal economy.”

The same report said Maduro's former sister-in-law resigned as president of the Central Bank, Rodriguez said Thursday, and it said the Central Bank's vice president Luis Perez will take over her role.

The Al Jazeera account said the moves clear the way for Venezuela to request financial assistance from the international lenders, and it said the IMF rejected Venezuela’s request for an emergency loan of $5bn in 2020 citing lack of an international consensus on the legitimacy of Maduro’s leadership.

The South China Morning Post also said Washington has been working with Rodriguez and is looking to expand the US presence in Venezuela’s oil and mining sectors, and it described the potential for a full IMF assessment and unlocking billions in frozen assets.