Ethiopia requests a new credit arrangement to access 1.5 billion dollar concessional loan from the IMF following the expiry of a 1.5 billion dollar loan facility approved to the East African country almost two years ago.
Upon the approval of the fund, this will give Ethiopia access to concessional poverty reduction & growth trust resources, replacing the expired facility.
“We look forward to discuss the modalities of IMF engagement going forward,” said Eyob Tekalign, State Minister of Finance.
The country was not able to complete its debt rework with its major creditors for 18 months, a major reason for the expiry of the facility. Last week, France and China chaired the first meeting of the country’s major creditors panel to rework the country's external debt, which has now reached almost 30 billion dollars.
"The creditor committee will reach an agreement to decide on how to deal with comparable debt treatment," Eyob added.
In spite of the technical expiry of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) component of the program, the Extended Fund Facility will remain active, making Ethiopia eligible for one billion dollar non-concessional loan.
