China writes off $25.3m of debt owed by Mauritania

Mauritania and China yesterday signed an agreement under which China wrote off part of its debts owed by the Mauritanian government.

The agreement was signed in the capital Nouakchott by Mauritanian Minister of Economic Affairs and Promotion of Productive Sectors Ousmane Mamoudou Kane, and the Chinese Ambassador Li Bai Jun, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

According to the statement, the agreement stipulates that China writes off a sum of 160 million yuan ($25.3 million) of debts owed by Mauritania.

The Mauritanian minister commended “this gesture of solidarity, which comes at a special circumstance as the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic.”

No information was given regarding Mauritania’s outstanding debts to China.

According to official data, 31 per cent of Mauritania’s four million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

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