
Uganda had been implementing an ambitious and successful program of macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform since 1987, with strong support from multilateral and bilateral creditors and donors. The government’s continued application of appropriate fiscal and monetary policies and of a program of substantial economic liberalization had to be instituted for a sustained and maintained high growth, low inflation, a steadily improving balance of payments, and an increasingly vibrant and diversified private sector. In April 1998, Uganda became the first country to reach its completion point under the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC Initiative) as the Executive Boards of the IMF and IDA agreed that the necessary conditions had been fulfilled.