Russia and Afghanistan Monday signed an agreement under which the Kremlin writes off 90 percent of Afghanistans 11 billion US dollar debt and raises the possibility of writing off the remainder.
Under the agreement, signed by Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and his Afghan counterpart, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, 90 percent of the debt is forgiven and the remaining amount is to be restructured for payment over 23 years.
The deal fell under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HPIC) process, which aims to reduce the debts of the worlds most indebted countries.
It was a “necessary step in the overall debt relief process that Afghanistan is going through”, said World Bank country manager Miriam Sherman. – The HPIC process is important in regularizing Afghanistan’s financial relations with the rest of the world, she noted.
Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi said the remaining debt amounted to 730 million US dollar.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
