Egypt asks to exempt African countries from paying debt interests

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 02:55 pm

Egypt has called for African countries to be exempt from paying debt interests bilaterally and multilaterally due to the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) Ambassador Alaa Youssef said on Saturday.

In an online seminar discussing the pandemic’s economic implications, Youssef said that exempting debt interests will provide the the liquidity and the fiscal policy space necessary for African governments to deal with the repercussions the virus will wreck on their countries.

The seminar tackled what must be done to reduce the various social and economic losses brought on by the outbreak, and called on African nations to enhance the partnership between public and private sectors to accelerate economic growth and implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

It also discussed intellectual property economies, called on coordinating international efforts to support afflicted countries and modernize their industries to further their economies within the future.

According to the Africa News website, over 13,000 cases of coronavirus were confirmed across Africa. Various countries have imposing a range of prevention and containment measures against the virus.