Pakistan strikes deal with France to suspend loans worth $107m

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government Monday signed an agreement with France under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated, leading to the suspension of loans worth $107 million.

"This amount, initially repayable between July and December 2021, will now be repaid over a period of six years (including a one-year grace period) in semi-annual instalments," the statement read.

The agreement was signed by Federal Secretary for Economic Affairs Division Mian Asad Hayaud Din and Ambassador of the French Republic to Pakistan Nicolas Galey in Islamabad today.

The government has already signed agreements with the French Republic for a suspension of $261 million.

The ministry noted that due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

"The total amount of debt that has been suspended and rescheduled under the DSSI framework, covering the period from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3,688 million," the ministry noted.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan has already concluded and signed 93 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the rescheduling of its debts under the G20 DSSI framework, amounting to the rescheduling of almost $3,150 million.

The signing of the above-mentioned agreements brings this total to $3,257 million. Negotiations for the remaining agreements to be signed under the G20 DSSI are ongoing.