Zimbabwe taking steps to clear $23bn debt, president says

Zimbabwe is taking steps to clear the $23 billion it owes multilateral institutions, as talks with lenders progress well, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said. The authorities recognise that credibility and predictability are essential ingredients to restoring investor confidence and securing new lines of credit, Mnangagwa told heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations in the capital, Harare, on Thursday. “My government’s ongoing engagement with international financial institutions, under the Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution Process, is progressing well,” Mnangagwa said.

“We are taking concrete steps towards fulfilling our financial obligations,” he said, without providing details. Zimbabwe last month secured a staff-monitored program from the International Monetary Fund, a key step toward resolving about $23 billion of debt that has shut it out of international capital markets for almost three decades. The southern African nation has been locked out of international capital markets since 1999, after defaulting on debt owed to lenders including the World Bank, the Paris Club and the African Development Bank. The country has enlisted the services of the AfDB and former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano to help negotiate with creditors.