Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In November 2001, the Chinese Government and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a debt exemption protocol. Neither party disclosed the amount of debt that was forgiven. However, the IMF recorded a $39.9 million reduction in the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s outstanding debt obligations to the Chinese Government in 1999 (in a statistical appendix to IMF Country Report No. 03/386). Since debt cancellation agreements with the Chinese Government can be subject to discussion and negotiation over multiple years and the Chinese Government and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a debt exemption protocol in 2001, AidData records this amount of debt forgiveness in the year when the debt exemption protocol was signed.
Staff comments
1. The debts that were written off through this agreement were almost certainly contracted before 2000, so AidData has not coded this project as an “umbrella project” (as there is little risk of double-counting loans that were contracted from 2000 onward). 2. The Spanish name of the debt forgiveness agreement is El protocolo sobre la exoneración parcial de las deudas al gobierno de guinea ecuatorial entre el gobierno de la R.P. China y el gobierno de la R. de Guinea Ecuatorial. 3. During the same meeting, the Chinese Government also agreed to provide the Government of Equatorial Guinea with interest-free loans (as captured via Record ID#474).