Belgium becomes eighth creditor to restructure Ghana’s debt

Ghana has signed a bilateral debt restructuring agreement with Belgium as the government moves closer to completing negotiations with its external creditors following the economic crisis that pushed the country into default between 2022 and 2023.

The agreement, concluded in Accra, forms part of a broader programme to restore fiscal stability and restructure Ghana’s external debt after the crisis severely strained the country’s public finances.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson reflected on the depth of the financial challenges the country faced during the crisis period, noting that the government at the time was forced to take the unprecedented step of declaring a debt default.

“Ghana went through a very difficult period in 2022–2023. It was a financial crisis and the government of the day had to declare a default,” he said. “Today we are recovering and seeing a significant turnaround, and we are putting systems in place to ensure we do not return to that situation again.”

Dr Forson explained that the country’s external debt restructuring process was now approaching its final stages, with the agreement with Belgium marking another milestone in Ghana’s negotiations with members of the Official Creditor Committee.

He disclosed that Belgium had become the eighth creditor country with which Ghana had successfully concluded a bilateral restructuring arrangement under the programme.

The finance minister also expressed appreciation to the Belgian government and its people for their cooperation and support during the negotiations, describing the partnership as critical to Ghana’s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability.

Belgium’s Ambassador to Ghana, Carole van Eyll, reaffirmed her country’s commitment to supporting Ghana as it works to recover from the economic downturn.

“We are happy to continue supporting Ghana, and we are pleased that this restructuring has been concluded,” Ambassador van Eyll said.

She commended Ghana for the progress made so far in stabilising its economy and expressed optimism about the country’s recovery trajectory.

The ambassador added that Belgium looked forward to deepening cooperation with Ghana in the coming years as the country continues its efforts to rebuild economic resilience and strengthen public finances.

The agreement represents part of a broader set of negotiations between Ghana and its official creditors aimed at easing the country’s debt burden and creating fiscal space for economic recovery.