(BSS/AFP) - The IMF`s managing director on Friday praised Senegal`s efforts to increase transparency regarding its debt and signaled its readiness to help the west African nation with a new aid program.

Authorities in heavily indebted Senegal had made "important progress" in addressing past misrepresentation of its budget deficits, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.

She also commended authorities in the country for their "commitment to transparency, the actions taken to identify public debt liabilities, and their close collaboration with Fund staff on these issues."

The IMF suspended its $1.8 billion credit line to Senegal a year ago following revelations of distorted figures and fiscal mismanagement.

The move came shortly after Senegal`s government said that economic data had been misreported by former president Macky Sall.

An IMF team that visited Senegal in March subsequently confirmed that officials had made false statements regarding budget deficits and public debt for the period of 2019-2023.

Welcoming Senegal`s official request for a new IMF-supported program, Georgieva said things were "in a good position to move expeditiously forward on all fronts."

Formal negotiations on a new IMF program for Senegal are expected to begin in mid-October during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, she said.