On March 5, 2020, Norway gave Somalia access to $366 million. With this assistance, Norway has pushed the Horn of Africa nation one-step closer towards enjoying debt relief. Within five hours of receiving the funds, Somalia cleared all its World Bank arrears.
Norges Bank, the Central Bank of Norway, acted as the payment agent.
The Storting, Norway’s supreme legislature, approved the short-term bridge loan on February 25, 2020.
Now that Somalia has cleared its debts to World Bank, the country’s future loan applications are likely to be more straightforward. The East African nation will not struggle convincing international partners to invest in the country.
For decades, Somalia has not enjoyed any success in obtaining fresh loans. Norway has now made it much easier for the country to present its case to multilateral financial institutions around the world.