APA-Lusaka (Zambia) President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday took Zambia’s quest for a favourable debt restructuring programme to Paris for an audience with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, one of the key players in the Paris Club of Creditors.
Hichilema, who is on a tour of Europe, was scheduled to discuss Zambia’s debt restructuring proposals with Macron as well as trade and investment opportunities between Lusaka and Paris.
France is a key player in Zambia’s debt restructuring programme as it sits on the Paris Club of Creditors and the G20, which have been discussing Zambia’s debt situation under its Common Debt Treatment Framework.
Hichilema inherited a huge external debt burden when he took office in August 2021.
The southern African nation’s external debt topped US$17 billion at the end of 2021, of which one-third was owed to China, according to Zambian government data.
Zambia defaulted on its overseas debt in 2020 and is working on a restructuring with bilateral creditors and private bondholders, but talks have dragged amid a lack of consensus on how to provide debt relief.
JN/APA