France's Macron backs Ethiopia's debt restructuring efforts

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed full support on Saturday for Ethiopia's debt restructuring efforts, emphasising the need for a swift resolution "in the coming weeks". The backing from Macron, who is visiting Ethiopia after a stop in Djibouti, comes after Ethiopia and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached an agreement last month on the second review of a $3.4 billion financing programme.

During a joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Macron expressed "thanks to Ethiopia’s commitment to the reform programme, and stressed to complete the restructuring of this 3 billion-euro debt in the next few weeks,". He added that France fully supports the discussions underway with the IMF, highlighting a key meeting scheduled for mid-January.