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KINSHASA (Reuters) - A Chinese investment deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo has been amended to remove guarantees given by the Congolese government on mining projects, the IMF said on Tuesday after talks in Kinshasa.
The amendments may allow the IMF to rapidly study Congo's request for debt relief, Brian Ames, the IMF's mission chief for Congo, told a news conference after meetings in Kinshasa.
"When the IMF services confirm that the revised agreement is compatible with the viability of the debt, the Congolese authorities will be in measure to solicit financial assurances for the programme from the lenders of the Paris Club," he said.
"The administrative council of the IMF will then rapidly be able to examine the request for a new three-year HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) programme."
"During our visit the authorities also told us that the partners have accepted the amendments in the project of the Sino-Congolese agreement including the removal of the government's guarantee on the mining project," Ames said.
The IMF had feared the contract, which was to use Congo's mineral reserves as a guarantee for infrastructure projects, could plunge the central African nation deeper into debt and had delayed forgiveness of most of the $10 billion Congo owes.
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