US Vice President, Kamala Harris, has entreated Ghana’s foreign creditors to help the country meet its debt servicing obligation.
Madam Harris believes this will enable Ghana successfully negotiate the bailout it is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ghana’s economy is currently in turmoil as the government knocks on the IMF’s doors for a financial facility amid a painful domestic debt restructuring programme.
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta also just returned from a trip to China to negotiate external debt forgiveness to enable it to secure the expected $3 billion cushion from the Fund.
But speaking at the Jubilee House in Accra, madam Harris expressed support for the “engagement with the IMF.”
She insisted that the Biden administration “will continue to push for all bilateral creditors to provide meaningful debt reduction for countries that needed help including Ghana.”
“We must work together as an international community to ease the debt burden that is facing far too many countries,” she added on Monday.
She also announced the US government is committing $100 million to combat terrorism in some coastal West African countries.
These include Ghana, Guinea, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin and Togo. This, she said forms part of President Joe Biden’s strategy to prevent violent extremism and promote stability.
Madam Harris is currently embarking on a one-week tour which will see her visit Ghana and two other African countries – Tanzania and Zambia.