The Suriname government has signed an agreement with France to reschedule its outstanding debts to Paris as it makes progress in restructuring the country’s external debt.
The bilateral agreement was signed in Washington on the sidelines of the ongoing meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Word Bank.
The agreement was signed by Emmanuel Moulin, director general of France’s Ministry of Finance and, by Albert Ramdin in his capacity as acting finance minister
“Suriname is making good progress in terms of our debt positions,” said Ramdin, adding that “the parties will meet again to discuss some matters in detail”.
He said the international financial agencies have all indicated a willingness to assist the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in finding a solution to the debt problem. Ramdin said he is hoping that the negotiations with the commercial creditors can be concluded by the end of the year.
According to Suriname government officials, some of the debts were overdue and that agreements have been made about the outstanding arrears up to and including 2021 and the debt burden from 2022-2024 amounting to Euro17.8 million (One Euro=US$1.29 cents).
The officials said these are amounts that have to be repaid to the Agence Française de Development (AFD), adding that the debt has now been taken over by the Central Bank of France (Banque de France).
The arrears will be repaid in two instalments, in November 2022 and 2024, while Suriname refinances and repays the debt for 2022-2024 in the period 2029 to 2041. An interest of 0.75 per cent is charged on the refinancing amount with “all charges and fees included”.
Further agreements will be made in 2024 on the outstanding debt of approximately Euro 25.1 million.
The agreement with France follows an earlier agreement with the Paris Club. The officials said on the basis of the Paris Club agreement, negotiations continued with each member country individually until an agreement is reached.
France is the first member of the Paris Club to teach an agreement with the Santokhi government. With the refinancing, Suriname will have room to repay the debt to France over a longer period and without fines for the arrears. This will also normalize the relationship in the field of development and financial cooperation.
In December 2021, the IMF executive board approved a new 36-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility for Suriname, in an amount of US$688 million with the Fund saying then the decision enables an immediate disbursement equivalent to about US$55.1 million.
CMC/
