clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Turkey helping pay down Somalia's IMF debt

November 9, 2020 at 1:49 pm

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands Prime Minister of Somalia Hassan Ali Khayre (L) as they pose during their meeting within 1st Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on December 16, 2019. [Turkish Presidency / Murat Cetinmuhurdar / Handout – Anadolu Agency]

Turkey is contributing to debt relief to Somalia by pledging around 2.4 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), an International Money Fund (IMF) reserve currency, the country’s official Gazette announced on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The help comes under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, a World Bank and IMF-created framework to provide debt relief to the world’s poorest and most heavily indebted countries.

Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, Somalia’s justice minister, said on Twitter: ” My heart felt gratitude to @RTErdogan for his continued support to Somalia,especially to the economic reforms which resulted in Turkey clearing Somali’s IMF debt money, subtracting from money owed to Turkey by the IMF. Turkey remains to be a strong ally to Somalia’s progress. ”

According to Turkey’s official Gazette, this March, the IMF and the World Bank approved the Horn of Africa country’s eligibility for debt relief under the HIPC initiative.

It shows that Somalia’s debt will be reduced from $5.2 billion at the end of 2018 to $3.7 billion in net present value, a significant step towards the country’s debt sustainability, enhanced growth and poverty reduction.

Relations between Turkey and Somalia have a history dating back to the Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu was inaugurated in 1979, closed in 1991 due to civil war and reopened on 1 November 2011.

Somalia: Turkish company to manage Port of Mogadishu