Abdirahman Duale Beileh, the Minister of Finance in the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), held debt relief talks with Russian officials via video conference.
The talks centered on the bid by the Horn of Africa nation to secure the highly coveted debt relief status.
Beileh held productive discussions with a Deputy Minister in the Russian government, Timur Maksimov.
Beileh’s discussions with Russian officials come hot on the heels of Somalia’s repayment of the debt it owed international lenders after Norway gave it a bridging loan of $366 million.
Consequently, Somalia is now in the good books of two of the world’s premier lenders – the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
By clearing its loan arrears, Somalia is now eligible for low-cost loans provided by the World Bank through its International Development Association.