(Mogadishu) 06 March 2020 – Somalia has cleared arrears to the World Bank thanks to a $366 million bridging loan from Norway, the global lender has announced marking a turn-around for Somalia as it re-establishes its relations with the bank.
“With this clearance, Somalia has fully re-established its access to new resources from IDA and
paved the way to receive debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) to promote growth and recovery over the coming years,” the World Bank said in a statement.
World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg hailed the clearance of the arrears noting it marked a major milestone in Somalia’s recovery process.
“This lays the foundations for long term economic and social recovery. I would also like to thank
the Government of Norway for its generosity in facilitating the arrears clearance process.”
The clearance of the arrears not only enables Somalia to access low-cost loans from the World
Bank’s International Development Association but also inch closer to debt relief.
The International Monetary and African Development Bank announced this past week agreements for
clearance owed to them.
“As we enter this new course, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with the World
Bank Group and building on the pillars we have laid so far to boost the economy and bring prosperity to our people,” said Finance Minister Abdirahman Beileh.
The payment of these arrears was made possible through a $365.9 million bridge loan from the Norwegian government.
With the clearance of arrears to IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, Somalia is
expected to reach the Decision Point under the HIPC initiative.
Hadalsame Media
