Wednesday June 26, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) – Somali government has secured an agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development to settle an outstanding USD 36 million debt.
Somali Minister of Finance Bihi Iman Egeh, who signed the agreement in Vienna on Tuesday, stated that the Saudi Arabian government played a significant role in facilitating the discussions, which accelerated the debt settlement process.
"We have reached an agreement to settle the outstanding USD 36 million arrears with the OPEC Fund today. We are grateful for the support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the bridge loan to facilitate this," he added.
The Somali Minister emphasized that the agreement is another milestone in the ongoing successful debt relief negotiations, supporting Somalia's macroeconomic stability and economic recovery.
"The signing of today's agreement will also unlock new resources from the OPEC Fund for our national development," he noted.
The move will make Somalia eligible to participate in the OPEC Fund's development projects, similar to other African developing countries.
In December 2023, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank approved $4.5 billion in debt forgiveness for Somalia after the Horn of Africa nation completed years of financial reforms under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC).
The initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and the World Bank to help the world's poorest countries achieve debt sustainability.