Ethiopia has halted plans to implement the restructuring of its US$1 billion Eurobonds, due in 2024, after the Official Creditors Committee (OCC) concluded that the agreed terms did not fully comply with approved international standards for debt treatment.
The Ministry of Finance stated that this evaluation came after consultations with the Committee of Official Creditors and the International Monetary Fund, with the aim of ensuring that the restructuring process is consistent with the principle of “reciprocity,” which imposes fair and equal treatment between different categories of creditors.
In an official letter, the committee indicated that the initial agreement reached on January 2 with holders of 2024 bonds at an interest rate of 6.625% does not meet these requirements.
This pause comes about three years after Ethiopia defaulted on the 2024 bonds, which launched a complex debt restructuring process that included creditors from the private and official sectors.
In July of last year 2025, the Ethiopian government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Committee of Official Creditors, chaired by China and France, within the framework of the G20 “common framework,” which laid the foundations for an orderly treatment of official debt, including more than $8 billion in public obligations.
The process of restructuring the Eurobonds took place in parallel with the International Monetary Fund's four-year "extended credit facility" program, worth $3.4 billion, which aims to stabilize the economy and restore debt sustainability.
The International Monetary Fund linked its continued support to the implementation of a restructuring that meets the criteria for debt sustainability and fair burden sharing.
According to the ministry, proceeding under the current conditions would constitute a breach of the official creditor framework and could jeopardize macroeconomic stability and ongoing economic progress.
Ethiopia confirmed that it will resume negotiations with the ad hoc committee of bondholders in order to review the financial terms, with the aim of reaching a solution that takes into account the principle of reciprocity and the requirements of the International Monetary Fund program, and at the same time remains acceptable to creditors from the private and official sectors.
Ethiopia stops restructuring Eurobonds
