Tiny Andorra becomes IMF`s 190th member

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) just welcomed the principality of Andorra as its newest member, IMF said in a statement on Friday.

Andorra, a microstate situated between France and Spain.

Andorra applied for membership to the IMF in January 2020. The process, which included collecting economic information for the calculation of Andorra’s quota, was completed virtually due to the travel restrictions related to COVID-19. Several IMF departments worked together to make this happen—European, Finance, Legal, Secretary’s, and Statistics.

Membership allows the Andorran government to benefit from IMF policy advice, especially as the country tackles the crisis caused by COVID-19 and develops policies for a sustained recovery. In particular, the country can now receive an annual review or “health check” of its economy by the IMF, tap technical assistance, and access IMF lending if needed.