$172m debt relief pact inked with JICA

ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan on Wednesday signed a debt service suspension agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), amounting to deferment of payment of loans worth $172 million, under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) framework.

This amount, initially repayable between July and December 2021 will now be repaid over a period of six years (including one-year grace period) in semi-annual instalments.

The government of Pakistan has already signed agreements with JICA for suspension of $506 million. Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G-20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The total amount of debt that has been suspended under the DSSI framework, covering the period from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3.686 billion.

Pakistan has already concluded and signed 102 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the deferment of its debt repayments under the G-20 DSSI, amounting to suspension and deferment of almost $3.441 billion. The signing of Wednesday’s agreement brings this total to $3.613 billion. Negotiations for remaining agreements to be signed under the G-20 DSSI are ongoing.—TAHIR AMIN