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By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - The IMF's Africa director Zeine Zeidane met with Malawi's finance minister and central bank governor on the sidelines of the African Caucus 2026 in Gambia on Wednesday, as discussions continued about a new loan program for the African country, an IMF official said on Thursday.

IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said Malawi faced some significant economic challenges, including elevated inflation, and any new lending program would aim to restore macroeconomic stability and support growth while protecting priority social spending to support vulnerable citizens.

Zeidane encouraged continued cooperation by the Malawi officials to reach an agreement on a new Extended Credit Facility as soon as possible, Kozack told reporters.

An IMF mission visited Malawi last month, but left without reaching agreement on a new loan program. Days later, the IMF's resident representative in Malawi said the global lender was ready to move quickly, but said a deal hinged on the country's willingness to implement economic reforms.

"Technical and policy discussions are continuing, with the goal of agreeing on a package of policies and reforms that could be supported under an ECF arrangement," Kozack said during a regular IMF briefing.

She stressed that any IMF program with Malawi would have a strong focus on protecting vulnerable members of society, including "important protections around priority social spending to support the vulnerable."

Malawi's last IMF program, worth $175 million, lapsed in May last year because the country did not complete a ​review within ​18 months ⁠of its approval, meaning it received only an initial disbursement of $35 million. The Southern ​African nation's economic difficulties include a ​high ⁠debt burden and declining donor funding.