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To improve its credit rating with the IMF and World Bank, the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) will eliminate much of its commercial debt with a grant of €6 million (US $7.57 million from the French aid agency, Agence Francaise de Developpement.
"We'll use the French grant to clear our indebtedness to commercial banks in CAR," Daniel Nditifei Boyssembe, the CAR's minister of finance and budget, said on the government radio.
"This will put the CAR in a stronger position to negotiate low-interest, post-conflict loans with the IMF and World Bank next year," he said.
The French ambassador to the CAR, Jean-Pierre Destouesse, formally agreed on Wednesday to give the grant.
"CAR officials know that they can only sign an agreement with [international development banks] if their debts are controlled," he said on state radio.
He also called on the government to retrieve outstanding commercial taxes.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
