Ethiopia won the relief, part of an initiative by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, after it committed itself to economic reform and to implementation of a poverty reduction strategy, an official statement issued late Saturday said.
"The amount of debt was cancelled after Ethiopia launched implementation of the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program, a strategy with which the country is moving ahead by expanding educational and health institutions, rural development and potable water, among other infrastructure development," it said.
On Friday, the club recommended that its member governments cancel the debt owed them by the Horn of Africa nation. The latest cancellation complements debt relief of $2-billion offered Ethiopia in April by Bretton Woods institutions' Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative.
In 2002, Ethiopia's foreign indebtedness amounted to about $4,3-billion in that year, with gross national product coming to $6,6-billion, according to the World Bank.
The Paris Club is an informal group of rich-country creditors that meets in the French capital monthly with debtor nations to discuss debt restructuring. - Sapa-AFP
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