ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has successfully negotiated while concluding a rescheduling of agreements with 19 bilateral creditors, including members of the Paris Club.
The government of Pakistan, taking advantage of this initiative, entered into negotiations with 21 creditor countries for debt suspension amounting to $1.7 billion, said a press release issued by Ministry of Economic Affairs here.
The debt rescheduling agreements were signed with France, Switzerland and China by the Economic Affair Division at Islamabad.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by senior embassy officials of these countries.
On this occasion, the Federal Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Noor Ahmed appreciated the debt suspension support provided by the G20 and Paris Club countries.
He said, it was timely and had helped Pakistan save lives and livelihoods of millions during the difficult COVID-19 times.
It may be recalled that the G20 countries, together with the Paris Club creditors had announced a Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to provide much needed fiscal space to stressed countries in their fight against COVID-19.
Earlier this year the G20 and the Paris Club agreed to waive most debt payments for the world s poorest countries in 2020, as sweeping virus lockdowns upturned the global economy.
In June, Pakistan was named as one of a handful of countries to secure a moratorium on debt repayments from the Paris Club in an effort to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.
To add to the country s woes, Pakistan has also been facing growing questions about the massive amount of debt it has taken on in recent years through Chinese-financed infrastructure projects.
Beijing has been steadily pouring cash into Pakistan, investing more than $50 billion as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that has upgraded infrastructure, power and transport links across the country.
