Ghana’s bilateral lenders including China in talks to form official creditor committee
Ghana’s bilateral lenders are reportedly discussing the creation of an official creditor committee as a first step towards debt relief negotiations for the country.
This committee would bring together creditors such as China and India, alongside the Paris Club of creditor nations.
The aim would be to establish a framework for debt restructuring efforts to support poorer countries, such as Ghana, which became the fourth nation to apply to the common framework platform in January.
Ghana owes $1.9 billion to Paris Club members and $1.7 billion to China, its largest bilateral creditor.
The country’s decision to suspend overseas debt payments last year highlights its economic struggles, which include high inflation rates.
As a result, the government is seeking a rapid debt overhaul, although other countries undergoing common framework treatment have experienced slow progress.
Zambia, Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default, requested common framework treatment in February 2021, but it took until May for a creditor committee to be formed, and there is still no resolution.
Ethiopia’s efforts to negotiate its debt with bilateral creditors under the G20 platform have been delayed due to the ongoing civil war, with China and France co-chairing its creditor committee.
