NEW YORK, September 21 – This morning, World Bank Group President David Malpass met with President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia.
President Malpass and President Hichilema discussed Zambia’s progress in implementing highly positive economic and social reforms. President Malpass noted that faster progress on debt reduction discussions with official and private sector creditors is needed to allow Zambia to restore growth, investment, and build confidence in the economy.
President Malpass and President Hichilema talked about the upcoming meetings of Zambia’s creditors and jointly urged rapid progress on the completion of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the official bilateral creditors and subsequent agreement with commercial creditors. President Malpass highlighted that a deep debt reduction of 45 percent in net present value (NPV) terms, consistent with the Joint WBG-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis, is essential. President Malpass noted the importance of using a single discount rate to assess comparability of treatment among Zambia’s creditors. President Malpass and President Hichilema also discussed ways of strengthening representation of debtor countries in debt restructuring discussions.
President Malpass reaffirmed to President Hichilema the WBG’s support for the Zambian people and confirmed IDA’s aim to disburse $750m to Zambia in 2022 for impactful projects in health, education, and social assistance, as well as in the form of budget support. President Malpass also welcomed Zambia’s plans to diversify agriculture and increase exports, noting the benefits for poverty reduction in Zambia and food security in Africa.
