Somalia PM Khayre in US Visit to Expedite Somalia’s Debt Relief

Washington DC, 14.04.2019– Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre met both IMF Director and World Bank Governor in Washington DC, for talks relating to Somalia’s debt relief.

Somalia owes more than $4.6 billion in debt. The United States, France, Italy, the IMF, and World Bank hold the highest levels of Somalia debt.

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), met with Hassan Ali Khaire, Prime Minister of Somalia yesterday in Washington and issued the following statement:

“I was very pleased to meet with Prime Minister Khaire and his economic team at the IMF headquarters. We had a very productive meeting and exchanged views on Somalia’s impressive progress in building institutional capacity and implementing its economic reform program amid a continuing fragile security situation. The prime minister reiterated the government’s strong commitment to the policies under the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP), which expires at the end of the month.

“Following satisfactory completion of the current SMP, I am optimistic that a follow-up program can be agreed that meets one of the key requirements for Somalia to reach the Decision Point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Continued strong performance, together with support from international partners, will pave the way for Somalia to receive debt relief in the near future. In this regard, I assured the prime minister of the IMF’s full support for Somalia’s efforts.”

In Somalia, 60 percent of the 15 million person population lives in extreme poverty. According to the United Nations Development Programme almost 10 million people live in extreme poverty or close to poverty in Somalia while the war-torn African nation wrestles with a $4.6 billion debt. On Friday, Somalia’s Finance Minister Abdirahman Beileh will call for debt cancellation for humanitarian assistance.

“In the face of such terrible suffering, Somalia’s debt must be eliminated as soon as possible,” noted Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte who serves on United Nations debt expert groups. “Eliminating Somalia’s debt means an immediate investment to reduce extreme poverty in the country.”

“Humanitarian concerns and global political will are coming together to relieve Somalia’s debt,” stated LeCompte. “The situation is so extreme in Somalia and we need immediate debt relief.”