Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta
Ghana's finance minister said China should step up debt
relief for African countries in economic distress due to the coronavirus
pandemic. This was reported by Reuters news agency, citing a statement by
the Minister of Finance of Ghana.
“ I believe that China should act more actively, ” Ken
Ofori-Atta said during a conversation with Masoud Ahmed, head
of the Washington Center for Global Development.
Ofori-Atta is currently chairing the Africa Development
Committee, a ministerial forum whose members are consulting with the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund on Development.
“The African debt to China is about 145 billion US
dollars, this year it will be necessary to pay more than 8 billion ... This
must be taken into account, ” he added.
According to reporters, African governments have requested $
100 billion in assistance to combat the pandemic, as well as a moratorium on
external debt and the complete cancellation of some debts.
Mr. Ofori-Atta
added that African countries intend to increase their special drawing rights
and foreign exchange reserves, managed by the IMF, to protect against defaults
on commercial debts.
Africa accounts for only a small proportion of coronavirus
infections globally, but the continent's health systems are already under
serious pressure, with continent economies expected to decline, putting at
least 20 million jobs at risk.
On Tuesday, April 7, China said it recognized that
developing countries were facing more serious problems during the fight against
the pandemic, but did not mention any specific debt relief measures that were
planned to be implemented.
At a media briefing, the representative of the Chinese
Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian, said that China would discuss
bilateral requests from the countries concerned.
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