Since 2008, the Paris Club has published annually the amount of its claims on foreign countries.

These claims are held either by the Paris Club creditors directly, or through their appropriate institutions (including export credit or development agencies) on behalf of the member states.

The table published on the Paris Club website presents the total amount of claims as of 31 December 2024 held by Paris Club members on each borrower country, with a split into Official Development Assistance (ODA) claims and non-Official Development Assistance (NODA) claims.

At this date, the total of claims held by the Paris Club, excluding late interest, amounts to US$322.3bn of which US$191.8bn are ODA claims and US$130.5bn are NODA claims.

Some amounts on which Paris Club creditors decided to provide debt relief may still appear in this table for technical reasons, especially delays in the signing of bilateral agreements implementing Paris Club agreements.

The Paris Club publishes its annual report for 2024. It sets out the Paris Club’s action over the past year and the results of the Paris Club’s action. The report reflects the Paris Club’s commitment to greater transparency – by clarifying certain concepts and making public the outstanding amounts of Paris Club creditors by borrower country. The annual report also provides a platform for our partners: borrowing countries, the World Bank and the IMF, other bilateral creditors and private sector representatives.

This year, the report opens with an overview of the current international sovereign debt environment. Although sovereign debt vulnerabilities remain concerning, they have sightly decreased and solvency risks have been contained. However, a number of countries are experiencing significant liquidity tensions.

Then, the report reviews the progress made in the restructuring cases under the Common Framework: conclusion of the agreement with Ghana and the first steps concluded with Ethiopia. Various stakeholders involved in debt restructuring present their views on the results achieved, as well as the limits and the areas for improvement. The report also presents the restructuring carried out outside the Common Framework, which are the ones of Sri Lanka and Suriname.  

The report highlights the almost total cancellation of Somalia’s debt by the Paris Club creditors, after reaching the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC). This treatment is the opportunity for the Paris Club to present its assessment of the HIPC initiative, which has been a core part of the Club’s action for almost three decades.

The final part of the report looks at the positions of the Paris Club in the debates and reflections that animate the international sovereign debt community. Brazil reports on the results achieved under its G20 presidency, through the publication of several notes on the lessons learned from the Common Framework on debt swaps and Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs). The Paris Club Secretariat also present the main takeaways of the 2024 Paris Forum, as well as the conclusions of a workshop on comparability of treatment regarding Value-Recovery Instruments (VRIs).

Background notes

1. The Paris Club was formed in 1956. It is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by borrower countries.

2. The 22 members of the Paris Club are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. South Africa has been a prospective member since 2022.

Credit Photo : @Patrick Bagein

THE GROUP OF CREDITORS OF CUBA AND

THE GOUVERNEMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA

AGREE TO AMEND THE TERMS OF THE PREVIOUS CONSOLIDATION AGREEMENTS

The representatives of the Group of Creditors of Cuba and of the Government of the Republic of Cuba met in Paris on 16 and 17 January 2025 to amend the terms of the agreements dated 10 June 2021 and 12 December 2015.

During the meeting, the delegation of the Republic of Cuba described its country’s complex economic and financial situation and its underlying factors, and the main policies and measures implemented and to be implemented for a continued execution of its development plan.

This rescheduling provides the Republic of Cuba with better conditions to deal with its economic and financial difficulties in the next few years. It will also preserve the relationship with the member countries of the Group of Creditors of Cuba through the full implementation of previous consolidation agreements.

Background note:

The Group of Creditors of Cuba includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Credit Photo ©Delphotostock

THE PARIS CLUB IMPLEMENTS THE SECOND PHASE OF

THE DEBT TREATMENT TO THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME

Paris Club creditors agreed on 8 October 2024 with the Republic of Suriname on the conditions of the second phase of the restructuring of its external public debt, in the form of an Amendment to the Agreed Minutes on the Consolidation of the Debt of the Republic of Suriname of 22 June 2022.

Based on the assessment that the Republic of Suriname has fulfilled all its commitments under the 2022 Minutes, notably the comparability of treatment, and has maintained sound macroeconomic policies consistent with long-term debt sustainability, Paris Club creditors decided to reschedule all remaining outstanding principal amounts falling due starting on 1 January 2025 (stock treatment). As the 2024 IMF assessment of the macroeconomic situation is consistent with the previous projections, the repayment schedule is now, as planned, 17 years (including a 4-year grace period) for ODA claims and 12 years (including a 5-year grace period) for NODA claims.

The Government of the Republic of Suriname and the Participating Creditor Countries also committed in the 2022 Minutes to review the latest developments of the macroeconomic situation of the Republic of Suriname, in particular the existence of the prospects for oil revenues to adjust the second phase of the treatment. Those terms will be adjusted to ensure comparability of treatment with regards to other external creditors once the Value Recovery Instrument of the Bondholders starts paying out.

The Republic of Suriname has committed to seek debt treatments at least as favourable from all other bilateral and external commercial creditors.

Background notes

1. The Paris Club was formed in 1956. It is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by borrower countries.

2. The members of the Paris Club which participated in the reorganization were representatives of the Governments of France, Israel, Italy and the Netherlands.

Observers at the meeting were representatives of the Governments of Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the United States of America, as well as of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

3. The delegation of the Republic of Suriname was headed by H.E. Kermechend RAGHOEBARSING, Minister of Finance and Planning. The meeting was chaired by Mr. William ROOS, Co Chairman of the Paris Club, Assistant Secretary at the Directorate-General of the Treasury of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry.

Technical notes

1. The Republic of Suriname’s economic program is supported by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 22 December 2021.

2. The total stock of the Republic of Suriname’s external debt was estimated as of 31 December 2023 to be US$ 2,694 million and the stock of debt owed to Paris Club creditors was estimated to be US$ 88 million (source: IMF).

Credit Photo: AdobeStock@Matyas Rehak