Somalia has 99% of debt cancelled in major boost for fragile recovery

Source: The Guardian

Somalia has 99% of debt cancelled in major boost for fragile recovery

Paris Club of creditor nations agrees $2bn cancellation as Mogadishu moves towards financial normalisation amid ongoing conflict

Faisal Ali
Thu 14 Mar 2024 15.01 GMT
Last modified on Thu 14 Mar 2024 15.04 GMT

The Paris Club, a collection of some of the world’s wealthiest creditor nations, has announced the cancellation of 99% of Somalia’s debt, in a major boost as the country continues its fragile economic recovery from an ongoing three-decade conflict.

The announcement came after officials from Somalia’s finance ministry held meetings with creditor countries organised by the Paris Club, which is run by senior officials from the French Treasury.

In a statement released by the Paris Club, Somalia’s creditors, including the US, UK, Russia, Norway, and Japan, announced the cancellation of $2bn owed to club members as of January 2023.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Somalia’s finance minister, Bihi Eged, said: “Achieving full debt relief will transform Somalia’s future and allow our government to create fiscal space for basic public services.” Somalia’s information minister, Daud Aweis, said on X that the agreement marked a “big milestone in the country’s journey to financial recovery”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/14/somalia-debt-cancelled-paris-club-creditor-nations-2bn