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France Announces $145.6 Million Debt Forgiveness to Somalia

Storyline:Business, National News

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: France on Monday announced a $145.6 million debt forgiveness to Somalia as part of ongoing economic reforms and debt relief efforts. 

The agreement was signed by Somali Finance Minister Bihi Egeh and Arnaud Suquet, French Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia. 

“Today, we finalized the debt relief process with the Government of France totaling $145.6 million. I signed this historic agreement with Arnaud Suquet this morning,” said Minister Egeh.

Minister Egeh stated that the debt cancellation follows Somalia’s successful completion of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 2023 and the Paris Club agreement in 2024. 

“We are grateful to the government and people of France for their unwavering support,” the minister added. 

The federal government of Somalia has achieved major milestones in debt forgiveness with countries such as Denmark, Japan, and the United States recently forgiving their debts over the past two months. 

Following the completion of a debt forgiveness initiative overseen by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Somalia became eligible for over $4.5 billion in debt relief from its creditors.

The achievement marks a crucial step toward restoring financial stability and fostering sustainable development.