{"id":293163,"date":"2025-07-26T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T11:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/293163\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T11:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T11:26:11","slug":"ghana-signs-e87-7m-debt-relief-agreement-with-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/293163\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana signs \u20ac87.7m debt relief agreement with France"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dr <\/a>Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson and William Ross<\/p>\n

Ghana on Friday signed a \u20ac87.7 million debt relief agreement with France under the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) arrangement, making it the first bilateral creditor to do so after two years of negotiations. <\/p>\n

Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, finance minister, signed for Ghana, while William Ross, Co-Chair, OCC, signed for the Creditor (France), in an agreement, which provides a 100 per cent debt service, a reduction on the interest and extension on maturity on the country\u2019s debt. <\/p>\n

Dr Forson expressed the country\u2019s appreciation to France, the Paris Club, and Official Creditors Committee, legal and financial advisors for the collaborative work, which had culminated into the signing of the first bilateral agreement. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is often said that it is only in difficult times that you see your true friends and we can say without mincing words that the French Republic came through for Ghana and Ghana is extremely grateful,\u201d Dr. Ato Forson said. <\/p>\n

He noted the improvements in the Ghanaian economy, indicating the government\u2019s resolve to sustaining the progress made, while drawing investments into key priority areas \u2013 healthcare, education, agriculture and infrastructure. <\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a milestone \u2013 in the sense that it has taken us some years to get here but it\u2019s the most significant one that will pave way for others to this side,\u201d he said, noting the country\u2019s turbulent times and the current promising point for more investment. <\/p>\n

\u201cInflation that was once at 54.1 per cent has now come down to 13.7 per cent. We are seeing growth bounded to about five-year high. We are seeing particularly reserves the external position improving to about four months of import cover and primary surplus is at 1.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),\u201d the Minister recounted. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are determined to hold the line and sustain the progress we have made year to date, and we believe that in the coming days, Ghana will be able to see investment after the stability,\u201d Dr Ato Forson said, pledging the government\u2019s commitments for a deepened mutually beneficial cooperation with France. <\/p>\n

Thomas Nyarko Ampem, Deputy Finance Minister, stated that the agreement with France and the once ahead would provide clarity and certainty on the country\u2019s debt sustainability, \u201ctelling a good story that Ghana is on track.\u201d <\/p>\n

Describing Ghana\u2019s debt composition and treatment as complex, Ross said the professional and efficient engagement with multiple stakeholders, built trust among the official bilateral and international creditors, leading to France signing the agreement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have decided to reduce by 100 per cent as debt service, reduce interest and increase the maturity to give you space for investment, to also negotiate with other creditors and create a real partnership for other stakeholders to contribute to. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at what we have done for Ghana, it is shorter than what we did for Zambia, but we have continued to improve in the case of Ethiopia\u2026 you have been very impressive because you have many people and institutions to engage with,\u201d Ross said. <\/p>\n

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Jules Armand Aniambossou, described the moment as emotional, reflecting on the long-difficult journey the two countries embarked on before reaching an agreement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to this country more than two years ago, [the] country was facing some difficulties. But when your friend is your family is facing difficulties, you have to showcase that you will not just say I am sorry, but to take some key actions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why the French government at the very high level, decided to do. Because we are here today due to the political volunteer from both sides. France decided not to let down Ghana because of our historical relationship, the key role Ghana is playing in our region [Africa],\u201d he stated. <\/p>\n

This development forms part of a broader debt restructuring effort under the ongoing implementation of Ghana\u2019s three-year US$3 billion loan-supported programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with US$2.3bn disbursements so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson and William Ross Ghana on Friday signed a \u20ac87.7 million debt relief agreement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[51,1700,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-293163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114919295148812081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}