Ghana has made tangible progress on signing a memorandum of understanding with its official creditors and is making good progress on its programme with the International Monetary Fund, its Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.
The west African country reached a deal to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with its official creditors, including China and France, in January – a milestone in Ghana’s quest for debt relief as it charts its way out of the worst economic crisis in a generation.
The agreement with official creditors had been key to unlock further tranches of its $3 billion programme with the IMF. However, it had not yet signed the MoU.
“Ghana is in a good place now because it’s advanced negotiations with the bilateral creditors. In fact, there’s a very tangible progress concerning the signing of MOU with the bilateral creditors,” Georgieva said, addressing a media briefing in the capital Accra.
She said she was leaving Accra with “strong confidence” that the Fund’s program will be implemented.
Asked whether Ethiopia, which had requested an IMF loan programme, had submitted a reform plan, Georgieva said the Fund had “not yet assessed in detail how we can issue a programme, but we are very keenly interested in it.”
A mission from the Fund would be headed to Ethiopia soon, Georgieva reiterated.
Reuters
