KHARTOUM, Sudan
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok has expected the creditor nations would cancel 80 per cent of $60 billion debt Sudan owes them next June.
Hamdok arrived in
Khartoum on Wednesday night after his participation in an international
conference organized by President Emmanuel Macron to remove Sudan’s foreign
debt and attract investments, with the participation of about 40 countries and
a global front.
Speaking to the press
after his return to Khartoum, he said the Paris conference enabled his country
to fulfil the fifth and final and final condition before reaching the Decision
Point thanks to a 1.5 billion bridge loan from France to clear IMF arrears.
The Sudanese government
has already fulfilled 4 conditions under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) programme which provides debt relief for low-income nations.
"So, we have
fulfilled all conditions (for debt forgiveness), and by the end-June 2021, we
will reach the Decision Point," he said.
"We expect to be
exempt from about 80% of the debt, equivalent to 44-46 billion dollars,"
he further added.
After the French loan
Sudan has reached the Completion Point, which qualifies the east African
country for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative, and for debt relief under
the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) from the World Bank’s IDA and
the African Development Fund (AfDF), together with beyond-HIPC assistance from
the IMF.
Paris Club creditors are
also expected to provide further beyond-HIPC assistance at the Completion
Point.
Sudan’s $60-billion debt
is the biggest to be treated under the HIPC to date.
Meeting with Saudi
minister
Before t return to
Khartoum, Hamdok met with Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah
Al-Jadaan to discuss negotiations with Sudan’s creditor countries that are not
members of the Paris Club.
The Saudi government has
pledged to work jointly with Khartoum to tackle Sudan’s debit with countries
outside the Paris Club including China, Kuwait, the Emirates and Japan.
Also, China has pledged to raise Sudan’s economic support during the upcoming G20 meeting which will be held next October in Rome.
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