Russia has expressed its willingness to cancel Guinea-Bissau’s entire debt, according to a press release from Guinea-Bissau’s Finance Ministry Nicolau, Sal e Boa Vista.
According to the note, the Russian ambassador to Guinea-Bissau, Alexander Egorov, met Friday with the Secretary of State for the Treasury, Mamadu Baldé, to whom he expressed Moscow’s willingness to “”cancel the entire debt.
The Finance Ministry says the debt is around $26 million (23.9 million euros), but a substantial part of that amount had already been waived under the Paris Club in May 2011.
“The remaining part classified as the commercial debt,” the Finance Ministry explains, is “concerning the lease of the Guinea-Bissau embassy in Moscow,” worth more than $1 million.
“We are open to forgiving all of Guinea-Bissau’s debt,” said the Russian diplomat, quoted in the press release, during the audience with Guinea-Bissau’s Secretary of State for the Treasury.
Mamadu Baldé, the note also said, reiterated the willingness of the Guinean government to honour “all commitments made” in the area of public debt.
“One of the demands made by the International Monetary Fund is to resolve the debt problem,” said Mamadu Baldé, who promised to provide an adequate response.
The Finance Ministry also indicates that the Russian ambassador said Moscow “looks forward to Guinea-Bissau’s participation in the Russia-Africa summit,” scheduled for July in Saint Petersburg.