The United States embassy announced through its Twitter account that the U.S. has provided $128 million in debt relief to Pakistan in 2020 under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
The tweet read, “Under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, the U.S. provided $128 million in debt relief to Pakistan in 2020. Through efforts like this, the U.S. and Pakistan are working together to redirect critical resources to the COVID-19 pandemic response”.
The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) was approved earlier this year in April. DSSI offers a temporary suspension of government-to-government debt payments to 73 countries, including Pakistan.
The initiative is not to suspend the payments but rather delay the repayment with an extension period of five years and a grace period of one year.
In the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in October this year, it was announced that the DSSI facility would be extended for six months until June 2021. In monetary terms, this will translate to additional debt relief of $800 million to $900 million, depending upon the exchange rate and interest rate variation.
