Lazarus Chakwera suggested at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly that the international community consider restructuring and possibly canceling African countries' debts to bilateral and multilateral institutions.
“We are trying everything possible to manage our debts, but if you could consider either restructuring or completely writing off some of these debts, Africa would have a ‘breathing space,’" Malawian president said.
Earlier, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina warned that opaque resource-backed loans are hindering Africa's economic growth, making debt resolution more difficult and jeopardizing future development. He highlighted that African nations currently spend 65% of their GDP on external debt servicing.
Africa's external debt rose from $1.12 trillion in 2022 to $1.152 trillion by the end of 2023, according to the World Bank.