Pakistan among latest countries to get Paris Club debt relief.

ISLAMABAD: The Paris Club of creditor nations have agreed to suspend debt service payments from Pakistan, Chad, Ethiopia and the Republic of Congo as part of a G20 debt relief deal, the group said.

The latest agreements bring to 12 the number of countries to receive debt relief under the deal with a total of $1.1 billion in debt deferred as a result, the Paris Club said, adding 30 countries had requested to benefit. The debt relief will enable developing countries to focus their resources on combatting the novel coronavirus crisis that has crippled the world economy.

The Group of 20 leading economies and the Paris Club, an informal group of state creditors coordinated by the French finance ministry, agreed in April to freeze debt payments of the 77 poorest countries this year to free up cash to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Countries with debt service payments to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are eligible to benefit from the relief. The overall debt relief would mean suspension of $1.8 billion payable by Pakistan to 11 countries during May this year to June next year, both in the shape of...