Senegal’s minister of industry and trade, Serigne Gueye Diop, speaking on state TV late on Sunday, signalled that the country could be willing to restructure its debts.
The West African country’s finances have been in crisis since the 2024 discovery of billions of dollars in debt that were misreported by the previous government.
The International Monetary Fund froze its lending programme over the discovery and the two sides have been discussing a new programme since.
An IMF team visited Senegal last week, and Diop said the government was approaching negotiations with the Fund “without an ideology.”
“If the solution lies in restructuring, the government is ready to do it,” Diop said.
Senegalese authorities had until now publicly opposed a restructuring, which many investors see as necessary to make the debt sustainable.
The former prime minister, who had called restructuring a “disgrace”, was sacked last month.
Senegal’s leaders approached last week’s IMF visit still reluctant to accept a restructuring, two sources told Reuters, citing domestic political opposition. The IMF is expected to issue a statement about the visit on Monday.
