The African Development Bank (AfDB) has conducted the first of a series of capacity development sessions on debt management for Ethiopia, covering themes such as loan negotiations and management, domestic debt and capital markets development and enhancement of analytical and evaluation advisory capacity
Skills and competencies acquired through the training are expected to enable the government in improving debt management and increase domestic resources mobilisation, said the bank.
Furthermore, government authorities will apply the acquired skills to assess the risks associated with various financing options, leading to the design and implementation of a prioritised public investment programme. The phased implementation of public investments is set to increase access to finance for the private sector and thereby promote private investment.
Strengthening the private sector’s role as a leading driver of growth is consistent with Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation Plan II. The country has achieved economic progress with real GDP growth averaging more than 10 per cent during 2003-2004 and 2016-2017 driven by public infrastructure and foreign direct investment in infrastructure and manufacturing.
However, according to the AfDB, fluctuations in global demand and commodity prices and the vulnerability of debt sustainability to export performance are major downside risks to Ethiopia’s economic outlook.
Therefore, the bank said that to promote and diversify exports, robust debt management capacities will be required to mitigate these downside risks.
In this context, this technical assistance is part of the operationalisation of AfDB’s Country Strategy Paper for Ethiopia, which focuses on accelerating structural transformation and private sector development.
Funded by the South-South Cooperation Trust Fund and managed by the AfDB, the assistance runs from December 2017 to March 2018.
