KIGALI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has secured 268 million U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to confront climate shocks, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The funding, approved on Thursday under the new Standby Credit Facility, will also be used to boost balance of payments, the ministry said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

A statement by the IMF said Rwanda's commitment to building a resilient and greener economy is commendable and required to be sustained.

"Enhancing social protection programs, improving human capital accumulation, and promoting private sector-led economic diversification will be critical to navigate challenging times and advance living standards," the statement said.

"Maintaining the momentum on Resilience and Sustainability Facility-supported climate-related reforms including green taxonomy will help close adaptation gaps and increase resilience to climate-induced shocks," it added.

The IMF noted that Rwanda demonstrated its ability to catalyze additional climate finance and promote collaborations between the public and private sectors during the recent 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

It said that despite the challenging environment, Rwanda's progress on the climate agenda "remains exceptionally strong. - Xinhua