World Bank’s Banga eyes faster G20 debt restructuring for Senegal

WASHINGTON (Sept 14): World Bank president Ajay Banga said he would meet on Monday with Senegalese ​President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to discuss the West African country’s plans to seek a debt restructuring under the Group of 20 Common Framework.

‌”We’re going to discuss how we can be helpful to ensure that his case goes through the G20 Common Framework at the fastest speed of any of the prior cases,” Banga told Reuters.

Banga said G20 members had worked to reform the G20 debt treatment process and accelerate the timeline for completing a restructuring, and Senegal should be able to benefit from the experience garnered.

No details were immediately available about the meeting.

The framework was launched in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic to help the poorest countries restructure their debt, but reaching agreements proved to be a lengthy process, with Zambia’s case stretching for well over a year. Ghana’s case was completed in just over a year.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and G20 members later set up the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which includes borrowers and private sector players to work through challenges that had complicated the process. The parties have also issued a debt restructuring playbook to map out the process and make it more transparent.

Senegal this month said it would use an “enhanced” version ​of the G20 framework to reorganise its ​debt, excluding borrowings denominated in the regional CFA franc currency, after ⁠reaching a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a US$2.2 billion, three-year loan ​programme.

Faye is due to meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva during his visit to Washington.

“He’s got to do the right things, but he’s focused on doing it, so we’ll see,” Banga said.

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