Today.Az » World news » IMF pledges support for Somalia's debt relief
20 October 2019 [16:32] - Today.Az
By Trend
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed support for
Somalia's efforts to secure debt relief through the lender's highly
indebted poor countries program, reports Trend referring to Xinhuanet.com.
Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director who held talks with
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire pledged to work with the
membership of the Fund to secure the financial resources necessary to
clear arrears to the IMF and cover the costs of debt relief.
"Maintaining strong performance, together with support from
international partners, will pave the way for Somalia to receive debt
relief in the near future," Georgieva said in a statement issued after
the talks on Saturday evening.
According to the IMF, Somalia's external debt is about 5 billion U.S.
dollars, but Mogadishu has not made a service or amortization payment
since the onset of the civil war two decades ago, making it impossible
to access loans from the IMF.
Georgieva said she had a good and constructive meeting with Khaire
and congratulated the PM for the continued strong implementation of
Somalia's economic reform program amid challenging circumstances.
"We exchanged views on the importance of securing debt relief under
the Highly-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative as soon as possible,"
she said.
During the meeting, Khaire reiterated the government's strong
commitment to reforms under the current Staff Monitored Program (SMP)
and stressed its completion of the ninth National Development plan, both
of which aim to meet requirements of the HIPC initiative.
"I assured the Prime Minister of the IMF's full support for Somalia's
efforts to secure debt relief, including working with the membership of
the Fund to secure the financial resources necessary to clear arrears
to the IMF and cover the costs of debt relief," said Georgieva.
To qualify for the debt cancellation, Somalia needs to convince the
IMF, which would possibly convene its board of directors to review the
country's progress.
Should the IMF board give approval for the debt cancellation, Somalia
would be required to hold bilateral talks with private donors on the
terms of debt forgiveness.
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