Mali’s finance ministry says the country has defaulted on bond repayments because of restrictions imposed by its neighbours.
The ministry said it had sufficient reserves to repay the debt of more than $4.5m (£3.3m) due on 28 January but could not because of sanctions imposed on Mali by the regional bloc, Ecowas, and the West African central bank.
The ministry said Mali would pay its debts as soon as the restrictions were lifted.
Ecowas announced the measures last month after the military government announced a four-year delay to elections originally planned for February following coups in August 2020 and May 2021.
They include the freezing of Malian state assets in member countries’ commercial banks and the suspension of non-essential financial transactions.
Source: BBC
