A high-level consultation on debt-related vulnerabilities opened on Thursday in Abidjan, at the initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, noted APA on site.

According to the Vice-President of the AfDB, Charles Boamah, this problem of vulnerability linked to debt is a concern for countries that borrow funds.

Sharing the experience of Côte d'Ivoire, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Adama Koné recommended the establishment of committees "to analyze the needs" of loans.

“We have set up a debt committee, a committee of experts as well. They have an essential role”, indicated Minister Koné, maintaining that “we cannot develop in debt”.

However, specified the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance, “we need resources to finance our development”.

During a panel, Richard Evina Obama of the Ministry of Finance of Cameroon, advocated "more transparency in the management of debts". For him, emphasis must be placed “on the most vulnerable countries due to endogenous shocks such as terrorism”.

“Training and capacity building” appear as solutions to solve this problem of vulnerability.

The representative of Senegal in this work, Serigne Moustapha Sène, Director of forecasting and economic studies at the Ministry of Finance of his country, for his part proposed “diversification of resources”.

In January 2019, 17 borrowing countries from the International Development Association and the African Development Fund were considered to be at high risk of debt distress or in debt distress, more than double the number of countries in these categories in 2013.