(Seychelles News Agency) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed 2.3 million dollars to Seychelles following the third review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy said the third review was completed by the IMF Executive Board, allowing the disbursement of about 2.3 million dollars under the EFF, bringing the total disbursed to 9.1 million dollars.

The IMF approved a three-year loan in June last year for the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 countries in the western Indian Ocean. The loan of 17.6 million dollars is to help the country with its economic reform programme, which began in 2008.

The previous loan expired in December 2013.

According to the ministry statement, “macroeconomic outcomes in 2015 have been positive and the external current account deficit is estimated to have narrowed substantially, supported by low commodity prices and higher than expected tourism receipts.”

Seychelles’ economic growth for the year has been revised from 3.5 to 4.3 percent in large part due to an increase in tourist arrivals and expanding credit to the private sector.

The statement adds that the authorities have made progress in reducing the country’s debt burden with growth projected at around 3.3 percent in 2016.