Somalia expects to receive significant debt relief this week

Somalia expects to receive significant debt relief this week

 Somalia's federal government expects to receive major debt relief this week, lowering its debt-to-GDP ratio to below 6% in a historic move that would allow it to re-enter the international financial system after nearly 30 years.

The war-torn East African country is preparing to receive relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. An IMF media report said on Monday that Somalia is set to reach the “completion point” under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative on December 13, describing it as a “key milestone in the development path.”

Last July, Somali officials said that Russia had exempted their country from more than $684 million, indicating that the step would play a major role in the process of forgiving the country’s foreign debts.