France writes off debt owed by Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 25 (AFP) — The French government has written off 5.5 million euros (7.4 million dollars) in debt owed to it by Ethiopia in line with an agreement reached with the Paris Club of creditor nations, the Ethiopian foreign ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

The agreement cancelling the debt was signed between the two governments in Paris last week by Ethiopian Economic Development Minister Sufian Ahmed and French Economy Minister Herve Gaymard, the statement said.

Out of the ?5,5-million that was written off, ?3,9-million was cancelled by the French foreign trade insurance company COFACE, and the balance by the Bank of France, the statement said.

During the signing ceremony, Gaymard said he hoped that Ethiopia would use the sums written off for development and poverty reduction.

He also expressed his country’s support for efforts being made by British aid agency OXFAM to enhance producer prices to be paid to Ethiopian coffee growers.