The Bulgarian Government has agreed to wipe off about $6.314 million of Zambia's debt to the country, while the remaining 1.88 million, or 23 per cent of the total, are to be paid by the African state, Bulgarian media has reported.
The agreement was announced after Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov and his Zambian counterpart Situmbeko Mosokotuare signed the documents absolving Zambia of much of its debt to Bulgaria.
The cancellation of the Zambian debt was described as Bulgarian "official development assistance".
Zambia accumulated its debt to Bulgaria during the 1970s and 1980s when both countries had "active bilateral trade relations", the report said.
However, repayments of the debt have all but been suspended since 1987 when the economic situation in Zambia deteriorated sharply.
The statement said the Bulgarian Government assessed this negotiation as favourable for our country, considering the fact that Zambia was included in the list of highly indebted and poor countries (HIPC) since 2005.
The HIPC is a group of 40 developing countries with high levels of poverty and debt overhang which are eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The HIPC programme was initiated by the IMF and the World Bank in 1996, following extensive lobbying by NGOs and other bodies.
As of September 2009, the HIPC programme lists 40 countries (29 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa). Zambia has been a "member" of the group since 2005.
The agreement was announced after Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov and his Zambian counterpart Situmbeko Mosokotuare signed the documents absolving Zambia of much of its debt to Bulgaria.
The cancellation of the Zambian debt was described as Bulgarian "official development assistance".
Zambia accumulated its debt to Bulgaria during the 1970s and 1980s when both countries had "active bilateral trade relations", the report said.
However, repayments of the debt have all but been suspended since 1987 when the economic situation in Zambia deteriorated sharply.
The statement said the Bulgarian Government assessed this negotiation as favourable for our country, considering the fact that Zambia was included in the list of highly indebted and poor countries (HIPC) since 2005.
The HIPC is a group of 40 developing countries with high levels of poverty and debt overhang which are eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The HIPC programme was initiated by the IMF and the World Bank in 1996, following extensive lobbying by NGOs and other bodies.
As of September 2009, the HIPC programme lists 40 countries (29 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa). Zambia has been a "member" of the group since 2005.
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