bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

The United States and Somalia reached an agreement on Tuesday for Washington to cancel more than US$1 billion in debt owed by the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
The announcement came a day after the parliament in Somalia, which is heavily dependent on international aid, approved a US$1.36 billion national budget for 2025.
Somalia is one of the poorest countries on the planet, enduring decades of civil war, a bloody insurgency by the al-Qaeda linked jihadist group al-Shabab, and frequent climate disasters.
Tuesday’s deal was signed by Somalia’s Finance Minister Bihi Egeh and the US ambassador to Mogadishu, Richard Riley, who described it as a “great day”.
Riley said at a signing ceremony that the bilateral agreement forgives Somalia’s US$1.14 billion debt to the United States.
This was, he said, the largest single component of a total of US$4.5 billion in debt owed to multiple countries that was forgiven under a deal with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in December.

Today I announced the agreement of the completion of the debt relief process with the USA alongside @US2SOMALIA's Ambassador Richard H. Riley in #Mogadishu. American government debt totalling over $1.14 billion dollars was forgiven today by the United States government.
This… pic.twitter.com/Gg1aRmtGMy
— Bihi Egeh (@BihiEgeh) November 5, 2024

“Somalia, with the help of the United States and our international partners, undertook a host of reforms passing new laws, changing the way it operates, bringing improved accountability to its finances and moving towards sustainable practices,” he added.
In a post on social media, Egeh thanked the United States for its “unwavering support of our economic reforms and growth”.
The US embassy said the debt relief was in addition to US$1.2 billion in development, economic, security, and humanitarian assistance that Washington has provided to Somalia this year, describing the US as a “steadfast partner” for the people of Somalia.
Around 70 per cent of the population lives on less than US$1.90 a day, according to World Bank figures.
The national spending plan approved by Somalia’s parliament on Monday represents an increase of almost 25 per cent over the 2024 budget.
The finance ministry has forecast economic growth at 3.7 per cent for this year and 3.9 per cent for 2025, compared with 2.8 per cent last year, according to its budget strategy.
However it warned that growth rates could be affected by the disruption of grain supplies because of the prolonged war in Ukraine, as 90 per cent of Somalia’s wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine.

Other risks include the conflict in the Middle East that has affected global supply chains, and the impact of recent drought, it said.
In March, Mogadishu secured an agreement with international creditors to cancel more than US$2 billion in debt, the Paris Club of creditor nations said.
That followed the December IMF-World Bank deal sealed when Somalia reached the “completion point” of a debt management scheme known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC).
Somalia’s external debt has fallen from 64 per cent of gross domestic product in 2018 to less than six per cent of GDP by the end of 2023.


An average of 140 women and girls killed by a partner or relative each day in 2023: UN

Chinese firms bet on African gold as prices surge in the face of uncertainty

EU, US losing battles for Africa and Latin America to China

Nigeria adopts compressed natural gas, lost petrol subsidies drive cost-of-living fear

Africa

US writes off over US$1 billion of Somalia debt

Somalia is one of the poorest countries on the planet, enduring decades of civil war, a bloody insurgency by the al-Qaeda linked jihadist group al-Shabaab, and frequent climate disasters. Photo: AP

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addresses the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Al-Shabaab suicide bomber and gunmen kill 32 in Somalia beach attack

Relatives carry the body of a woman killed during an Al-Shabaab attack in Mogadishu on Saturday. Photo: AFP

People gather around an ambulance carrying the dead body of an unidentified woman killed in an explosion that occurred while revellers were swimming at the Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Somali pirates say hijacked Bangladesh-flagged ship released after payment of US$5 million ransom

A group of suspected Somali pirates captured by the Indian Navy and presented to the media in Mumbai on March 23. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ethiopia deal with breakaway Somaliland region sparks row with Somalia

The Berbera port of Somaliland in 2018. A new agreement would boost landlocked Ethiopia’s sea access. File photo: AFP



Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre. Photo: Reuters

News

World

The announcement is the result of a deal between the two countries signed by Somalia’s finance minister and the US ambassador to Mogadishu


The announcement is the result of a deal between the two countries signed by Somalia’s finance minister and the US ambassador to Mogadishu.
