China’s foreign ministry stated on March 23 that it would like to improve dialogue with Ghana in order to find a suitable solution to the country’s debt problem.
In answer to a query regarding the visit of Ghana’s finance minister to Beijing for a suggested restructuring of Ghana’s debt, spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remark.
According to a source with knowledge of the discussions, Ghana’s finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta left for Beijing on Wednesday to meet with Chinese representatives to discuss a possible restructuring of Ghana’s debt.
“The talks are expected to focus on ways to reduce Ghana’s debt burden and secure additional financing assurances for the country’s economic programme,” the source said, asking not to be named because the talks are private.
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Ghana, which is going through its worst economic crisis in a decade, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement in December for a $3 billion loan, but the IMF’s board must first approve the program before lenders can be asked to offer financial commitments.
The largest bilateral creditor to Ghana is China, which owes the country around $1.7 billion.
The government’s current priority is to secure IMF board approval, with the fine details of debt treatment operations to follow later, the source added. The meetings will take place on Thursday and Friday.
A Chinese delegation visited Ghana this month for initial debt talks which the finance ministry said were “cordial and fruitful”.
Ghana effectively defaulted on the majority of its foreign debt last year and is currently in need of resolution negotiations with its private international investors.
Ghana has already restructured its domestic debt, and as part of the common framework initiative sponsored by the Group of 20 major countries, it has asked to modify its bilateral debt. A formal committee of creditors to hold negotiations with sovereign creditors is still not in place.
SOURCE: Citinews
