France suspends Pakistan’s $107m loan repayment

Pakistan and France signed an agreement for the suspension of repayment of loans amounting to $107 million under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), according to a statement issued by the Economic Affairs Division on Monday.

In the statement, the EAD said the amount, initially repayable between July and December 2021, would now be repaid over a period of six years — including a one-year grace period — in semi-annual instalments.

The agreement was signed by Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Mian Asad Hayaud Din and Ambassador of the French Republic to Pakistan Nicolas Galey, the statement said.

"The government of Pakistan has already signed agreements with the French Republic for suspension of $261 million. Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G20 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 statement added.

Also read: Govt inks $197.5m debt suspension agreements

The total amount of debt that has been suspended and rescheduled under the DSSI framework, covering the period from May 2020 to December 2021, stands at $3,688 million.

"Pakistan has already concluded and signed 93 agreements with 21 bilateral creditors for the rescheduling of its debts under the G20 DSSI framework, amounting to rescheduling of almost $3,150 million. The signing of [the] above-mentioned agreements brings this total to $3,257 million," the statement said.

It added that negotiations for the remaining agreements to be signed under the DSSI framework were ongoing.