The visit this week is part of the restructuring of the government’s external debt.
Ghana hopes to restructure the $5. 7 billion with China accounting for a third of that at $1.7 billion.
“The big elephant in the room is China, how they position themselves in the treatment comparison because China wants to do bilateral. We will be visiting China at the end of the week to discuss how they can cover as soon as possible,” said Mr. Ofori Atta.
The embarrassed minister opined that a deal could be reached to enable Ghana to present its case before the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
On her part, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation, Svenja Schulze, says her country will help Ghana get fair treatment at the Paris Club.
Ghana is currently restructuring its debt domestically and externally to secure support from the IMF.
Following this, Ghana’s bilateral creditors are discussing the creation of an official creditor committee, a necessary first step for the country to engage in debt relief negotiations.
The Paris Club of creditor nations has approached other bilateral creditors, such as China and India, to be involved in creating the committee and deciding who will chair it.
According to data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), China is Ghana’s single largest bilateral creditor with a debt of $1.7 billion, while Ghana owes $1.9 billion to Paris Club members.
