Admin I Thursday, June 13, 2023
BERLIN – Germany has cancelled €15.8 billion ($17.1 billion) in debt owed by a total of 52 countries since the beginning of the century, according to the Finance Ministry.
The ministry published the figures in response to a query by Stephan Brandner, a lawmaker of Germany’s opposition far-right AfD party.
According to the ministry, the government has reached agreements with 52 countries to manage debt relief.
The ministry said that the largest share of debt was cancelled for Iraq totalling €4.7 billion, followed by Nigeria with €2.4 billion and Cameroon with €1.4 billion.
Brandner’s inquiry included a question about the current level of debt owed to Germany by other countries. As of December 31 last year, this figure stood at €12.2 billion for 70 countries and the Palestinian territories.
The largest liabilities are currently held by Egypt (€1.5 billion), India (€1.1 billion) and Zimbabwe (€889 million).
“Debt relief serves to achieve or maintain macroeconomic stability and to restore the debt sustainability of debtor countries,” the ministry’s response said.
The cancelled debts include outstanding funds from financial cooperation with the states, as well as trade receivables from supply and credit contracts of German exporters and banks, primarily from the 1980s.
Brandner questioned whether Germany could afford these debt cancellations. “Our ailing infrastructure needs every cent […] especially since some countries have been granted debt relief multiple times without success.
“The persistent hope of debt relief significantly increases the tendency to accumulate more and more debt,” he said.
