Accra — Ghana’s finance ministry said on Thursday that a Chinese delegation had ended a three-day visit to discuss Ghana’s request for the restructuring of the $1.9 billion debt it owes China.
The ministry said in a statement that the Chinese delegation came to Accra ahead of an upcoming Ghanaian mission to China and that discussions had been “highly cordial and fruitful”.
Ghana, which is struggling with its worst economic crisis in a generation, secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF in December for a $3 billion loan, but the money’s approval is contingent on it restructuring its debt of 575.7 billion cedis ($46.06 billion).
External debt was $29.2 billion at the end of November 2022, according to central bank data.
China’s official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country’s total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Germany’s finance minister recently singled out China during a visit to Ghana, as he called on countries that have lent to the struggling nation to form a creditor committee quickly to help it restructure its debt.
($1 = 12.5000 Ghanian cedi)
*Christian Akorlie; Anait Miridzhanian; Editing: Estelle Shirbon – Reuters
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