June 16, 2021
PRESS OFFICER: Lucie Mboto Fouda
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
Washington, DC: Following the statement issued on June 16 by the Creditor Committee for Chad under the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement:
“I very much welcome the statement issued on June 16 by the Creditor Committee for Chad. This is a key milestone on the path to the debt relief that Chad urgently needs, together with envisaged financial support from IMF, the World Bank, and other development partners. [1] The statement also demonstrates concrete progress in implementing the G20’s Common Framework, which sends a positive signal to other countries that may need debt treatments to support a strong and lasting recovery from this unprecedented crisis.
"Let me thank each of the members of the Creditor Committee for their intensive work on Chad’s requested debt treatment, including their recognition of Chad’s dire economic and financing situation following the combined shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, oil-price decline, climate change, and terrorist attacks. [2] These shocks, together with the measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic, have had a contractionary impact on the economy and exacerbated poverty, generating significant financing needs and leading to Chad’s debt being assessed as unsustainable, despite the fiscal efforts and structural reforms under the envisaged IMF‑supported program. A debt treatment is therefore critical to move forward.
"The Creditor Committee’s support for Chad’s envisaged IMF-supported program, together with its commitment to negotiate debt restructuring terms, accordingly, provides the IMF with official financing assurances. Speedy steps towards debt treatments by Chad’s private creditors, on comparable terms to the debt treatment under the Common Framework, are now essential to pave the way for the IMF Executive Board to consider approval of a Fund-supported program for Chad. I therefore strongly endorse the call by the Creditor Committee for private creditors commit to negotiate such debt treatments without delay.
"Approval of such a program by the IMF Executive Board will in turn facilitate much needed financing from Chad’s main development partners in support of the authorities’ IMF‑supported reform and stabilization program, helping to put the economy on a sustainable path of growth and poverty reduction.”
[1] On January 27, IMF staff completed staff level agreement with the Chadian authorities on a new medium-term program that could be supported by IMF resources of about US$572 million under an Extended Credit Facility arrangement. The new government on May 5 renewed its commitment to the policies underpinning the January 27 staff level agreement.
[2] The members of the Creditor Committee for Chad include representatives of China, France, India, and Saudi Arabia.
