Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Zambian government would secure its debt restructuring plan at talks with official creditors in Paris this week.
In 2020, an African country became the continent’s first foreign debt default (nominal $18.6 billion) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zambia has since sought help for its debt restructuring through the G20 mechanism, co-chaired by Paris and China, but has been slow to deliver.
Hichilema, who was on his way to France to attend an international financial summit, said at a press conference during a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali that a deal was expected.
“The framework and the presence of other (leaders) to be agreed in the next few days show the urgency of reaching conclusions,” he said.
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He hoped that a stay in France with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premier Li Qiang would help speed up the process.
“The three of us should stand side by side,” he said.
“It is our desire to complete and confirm the closure of the Zambian debt restructuring,” Hichilema said. I put up with it for too long. “
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He described the debt as “a python with paralyzed necks, ribs and legs”.
The US has accused China, Zambia’s biggest creditor, of holding back.
A senior U.S. Treasury official said: “We are hopeful that there will be progress on Zambia and that a formal bilateral creditor agreement is imminent.”
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China owes a third of Zambia’s total debt.
In April, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she had received renewed assurances that China supported Zambia’s debt restructuring program during a visit to Beijing.
Zambia’s debt restructuring talks, which have been going on for two years, are a significant step toward blocking IMF aid plans for the country.
The Paris Club, a group of informal creditors whose role is to find solutions for countries facing debt service difficulties, is committed to finding ways to reform global finance for a new era shaped by climate change. It began on Wednesday ahead of its intended summit in Paris. change.
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