A senior executive of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday, 18 June that the Dominican Republic has “great” challenges to face and cited the slowing economy and rising unemployment. Przemek Gajdeczka, the head of the IMF mission to the country, made the statement after a meeting with Economy, Planning and Development Minister Temistocles Montas. He said that the Dominican economy has slowed down over recent months after several years of growth. Addressing the public debt, the IMF official said that right now it was at about 45% of GDP, which in his opinion was sustainable. Gajdeczka said: “There are no problems like in many places. There is no critical situation.” The head of mission concluded by saying that the really positive aspect was that there was an improving fiscal situation that has improved and there are several incentives to get the economy moving.