The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance today announced a significant step forward in its debt restructuring efforts, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on debt treatment with the Ethiopia Creditors Committee (OCC). This crucial agreement, facilitated under the G20 Common Framework for debt treatment, is set to officially implement the debt relief deal initially reached in principle in March 2025.
The agreement is expected to provide Ethiopia with over $3.5 billion in debt relief, a substantial boost for the nation's economic stability. The Ministry of Finance highlighted this MoU as the successful culmination of years of negotiations and a vital milestone in Ethiopia's journey toward ensuring long-term government debt sustainability.
Ethiopia extended its sincere appreciation to the members of the Creditors Committee, particularly to China and France, the Committee's co-chairs, for their unwavering support and cooperation throughout the debt treatment process.
Following the signing of the MoU, the agreement will be put into practice through bilateral agreements with each individual member of the Committee.
Dr. Eyob Tekalign, State Minister of Finance, expressed optimism about the path forward. "We firmly believe that the spirit of cooperation demonstrated throughout this process will continue during the bilateral agreement process and will help expedite the process," he stated.
The State Minister further affirmed Ethiopia's commitment to continued collaboration with its external creditors. He emphasized that the country will work to finalize agreements in line with its debt treatment needs and the principle of Comparability of Treatment for all creditors. The Ethiopian government believes this understanding with the Creditors Committee will also bolster its ongoing efforts to reach agreements with other external creditors, including bondholders, reported ENA.