United Nations (UN) has welcomed Somalia’s move to clear arrears to the World Bank.
Somalia cleared debt owed to the global lender thanks to a $366 million bridging loan from Norway.
In a a Twitter post, UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) extended congratulations to Somalia for the latest step on its path to #economic growth.
“It (Somia) cleared its arrears to the International Development Association, completing the process of normalizing its financial relationship with the World Bank,” the reads the post.
In a statement, World Bank on Friday announced that the move saying it marks a turn-around for Somalia as it re-establishes its relations with the bank.
“With this clearance, Somalia has fully re-established its access to new resources from IDA and paved the way to receive debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) to promote growth and recovery over the coming years,” the World Bank said in a statement.
World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg hailed the clearance of the arrears noting it marked a major milestone in Somalia’s recovery process.
“This lays the foundations for long term economic and social recovery. I would also like to thank the Government of Norway for its generosity in facilitating the arrears clearance process.”
