African diplomats urge UK government to back bill to speed up debt restructurings

Diplomats from eight southern and east African countries have signed a letter calling on the UK government to support a private member’s bill that aims to speed up debt restructurings, after economic crises meant countries were unable to pay back loans. Since 2020, countries including Zambia, Sri Lanka and Ghana have defaulted on their overseas debts. A UK government spokesperson said: “The UK fully agrees that private creditors should participate in restructurings on comparable terms. Overall, we have seen evidence of private creditors’ willingness to engage and provide debt treatments where needed, including for Zambia and Ghana. “Non-bond private creditors … are very different … and it is unlikely that the solutions provided in the [UK] bill would apply easily to them,” said Frederique Dahan, a director at ODI.