Lagarde has thanked Algeria for $5bn contribution Algiers – Hocine Bousalah The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, has begun a three-day visit to Algeria. The Frenchwoman is expected to hold several meetings with senior Algerian officials from the economic and financial sectors. Lagarde is accompanied by the officials from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Incentive Fund. She will participate in a forum entitled, Development And Economic Challenges In The World And Algeria, on Thursday. Last October, Lagarde praised Algeria after it announced plans to contribute $5bn to the organisation. In January this year, IMF's Board of Directors congratulated Algeria on "its positive economic results." Bretton Woods Foundation believes that Algeria's predicted 4.3% economic growth in 2013 will not be enough to reduce the unemployment rate. The foundation has highlighted the growing inflation, and dependency on hydrocarbon sector as the most important challenges facing the state. Algeria has foreign reserves of more than $186 billion, according to its central bank. The country is the third largest supplier of natural gas to Europe after Russia and Norway.