Paris Club creditors have agreed to give Angola debt service relief until the end of 2020, the group said. Relying heavily on oil revenues and saddled with debts that exceed its economic output, the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa has been reeling from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and weak oil prices. The Paris Club is a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. “In application of the term sheet of the debt service suspension Initiative (DSSI) also endorsed by the G20, the Paris Club recognised that the Republic of Angola is eligible to benefit from the initiative,” the Paris Club said in a statement on Monday. G20 members, including China, and the Paris Club in April offered a freeze on debt service payments to some of the poorest countries through year-end to free up funds to fight the outbreak and mitigate its economic impact. Angola’s debt service suspension will apply from May 1 to Dec. 31, the Paris Club said. The government is committed to use resources freed by the initiative to raise spending to mitigate the health, economic and social impact of the pandemic, said the group, which is coordinated by France’s finance ministry. The government is also committed to seeking from all its other bilateral official creditors debt service treatment in line with the agreed term sheet, the group added.
