LIBERIA Debt Treatment - April 17, 2008

• repayment of non ODA credits over 23 years , with 6 years of grace
• repayment of ODA credits over 40 years with 16 years of grace

good will clause

 Given the decision by Paris Club Creditors to contribute to the exceptional assistance in favour of the Government of the Republic of Liberia under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, the Participating Creditor Countries declare their readiness in principle to hold a meeting at the Completion Point designed to examine the question of the Republic of Liberia’s outstanding debt stock and to make the necessary effort in favour of the Republic of Liberia to allow it to reach the objective of its debt sustainability in the context of an equitable burden sharing among creditors, provided that:

- the Government of the Republic of Liberia maintains satisfactory relations with the Participating Creditor Countries and a sound reform track record;

- the Executive Boards of the IMF and the IDA decide that the Republic of Liberia has reached its Completion Point under the enhanced HIPC initiative.

Phases

• First phase : From March 01, 2008 up to December 31, 2008 implemented at the signature of the agreement
• Second phase : From January 01, 2009 up to December 31, 2009 not implemented yet
• Third phase : From January 01, 2010 up to December 31, 2010 not implemented yet

The Republic of Liberia was declared eligible to the Enhanced HIPC initiative by the IDA and the IMF in February 2008 and was declared to have reached its Decision Point in March 2008. In this context, the Republic of Liberia commits to seek promptly from all its external creditors which are not participating in these Agreed Minutes, their appropriate contribution in terms of debt relief to the enhanced HIPC initiative, on top of traditional debt relief mechanisms and consistent with the proportional burden sharing based on their relative exposure in net present value of total external debt at Decision Point after the full use of traditional debt relief mechanisms.
 

The appropriate nature of the debt relief provided will be assessed not only on the basis of the reduction in the net present value of the debt as computed under Appropriate Market Rate, but also on the terms of repayment of the debts not cancelled. For this purpose, all relevant elements will be taken into account, including the level of cash payments received by those creditors as compared to their share in the Republic of Liberia’s external debt, the nature and characteristics of all treatment applied, including debt buy backs, and all characteristics of the reorganized claims and in particular their repayment terms whatever forms they take and in general the financial relations between the Republic of Liberia and creditor countries not listed in these Agreed Minutes.

Consequently, the Republic of Liberia commits not to accord any category of creditors -and in particular creditor countries not participating in these Agreed Minutes, commercial banks, suppliers and bondholders- a treatment more favourable than that accorded to the Participating Creditor Countries.

Participating creditors

Observers

Press release