Accorded treatment
Agreement on the Debt service suspension Initiative (DSSI)
Categories of debt treated
Treatment of arrears as of April 30, 2020
Treatment of maturities falling due from 1 January to 30 June 2021
Repayment profile
Treatment under Ad Hoc terms
Duration of the suspension of payment : from 1 January to 30 June 2021
Perimeter of maturities and cut-off date
- Suspension of principal repayments and interest payments
- Cut-off date protecting new financing in case of possible future restructuring: 24 March 2020
Modalities for the debt service suspension
NPV-neutral for the suspension of payments
Repayment period: 5 years, with a one-year grace period (6 years total)
Treatment will be achieved either through rescheduling or refinancing.
Specific provisions
The Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau is required to commit :
- to use the created fiscal space to increase social, health or economic spending in response to the crisis. A monitoring system is expected to be put in place by the IFIs;
- to disclose all public sector financial commitments (debt) respecting commercially sensitive information. Technical Assistance is expected to be provided by the IFIs as appropriate to achieve this;
- to comply with the debt limits on contracting new non-concessional during the suspension period agreed under the IMF Debt Limit Policy (DLP) or WBG policy.
Good will clause
If the Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau has fulfilled all its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding dated 26 April 2021, the Participating Creditor Countries declare their intention to consider before 1 July 2021 a revision of the Memorandum of Understanding in order to possibly extend the period during which payments due on concerned debts are to be deferred, if the economic and financial situation requires to extend further the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
Comparability of treatment provision
The Government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau commits to seek from all its other bilateral official creditors a debt service treatment that is in line with the agreed term sheet and its Addendum providing the key features of the time-bound suspension of debt service payments initiative set out in Annexes I and II of the Memorandum of Understanding dated 26 April 2021 and commits not to accord any of these creditors a treatment more favourable than the elements described in Annexes I and II of the Memorandum of Understanding.
Organisation of the session
The agreement was signed by Mr. William Roos, Co-Chairman of the Paris Club.
The head of the debtor country was Mr. João Aladje Mamadu Fadia, Minister of Finance.
- AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, CANADA, DENMARK, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, IRELAND, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAPAN, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA