Somali minister for Finance, Abdirahman Duale Beileh on Wednesday met with US ambassador to Somalia, Donald Yamamoto.
In a twitter post, US embassy in Mogadishu said the ambassador discussed with Beileh on the country’s economic reforms and Somalia’s efforts for debt cancelation.
“Ambassador Yamamoto met with @DrBeileh to discuss Somalia’s fiscal reforms & progress towards #IMF debt relief,” the post reads in part.
The ambassador welcomed the approval of the Public Financial Management Bill, Company Law and private sector development.
“US2SOMALIA congratulates #Somalia on passing key economic legislation in order to keep on track. #Debtrelief = poverty reduction & economic growth for Somalia,” the embassy said.
Somalia has not made a service or amortization payment since civil war broke out more than 25 years ago.
Somalia’s external debt amounts to approximately USD 4.7 billion, and debt cancellation is a key priority for the Somali Government.
A third of the debt is owed to the multilateral development banks, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Somali government has been working to establish legal and technical capacities for revenue generation since 2017.
