Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance and Official Creditor Committee (OCC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which offers the east African country a debt relief of over $3.5 billion, the ministry said Wednesday in a statement.
The agreement represents an important milestone in Ethiopia’s journey towards achieving long-term public debt sustainability and brings to a successful conclusion of many years negotiation process, according to the statement.
Ethiopia extends its heartfelt gratitude to all members of the OCC, particularly to the committee’s co-chairs, China and France, for their steadfast support and collaboration in facilitating Ethiopia’s debt treatment endeavors.
Following the signing of this MoU, its terms will be implemented through bilateral agreements with each member of the OCC, the statement noted.
“Ethiopia remains confident that the collaborative and pragmatic spirit that has prevailed so far will help expedite the process of finalizing bilateral agreements,” the statement quoted Eyob Tekalign, Ethiopia’s State Minister, as saying.
He said Ethiopia continues to engage in good faith with all its other participating external creditors and seeks to conclude restructuring agreements on terms compatible with the country’s need for debt relief and the comparability of treatment principle.
“The Ethiopian Government is hopeful that the formalization of its debt treatment with the OCC will further bolster Ethiopia’s efforts to reach agreement with participating external creditors, including its bondholders,” he added.
MG/abj/APA