Luanda: The public debt service of the Angolan state for the financial year 2025 is set at 57.4 trillion kwanzas (58.61 billion U.S. dollars), which represents 63% of the gross domestic product (GDP), the country's Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa announced Monday in Luanda.

According to Angola Press News Agency, the minister, who presented the Annual Debt Plan (PAE) 2025, said that the public debt service for this year is estimated at about 13.2 trillion kwanzas, equivalent to about 13.53 billion US dollars, with a projection of raising about 14.6 billion kwanzas (14.93 billion US dollars).

The minister noted that Angola's debt service has averaged 16 billion US dollars per year over the past three years, with China as the largest creditor. She emphasized that debt is a strategic tool for the growth and development of the country, although increasing tax revenues and using internal resources would always be the preferred solutions.

Vera Daves de Sousa explained that public debt management is a demanding and challenging task, but it is essential for ensuring macroeconomic stability and financing development priorities. She highlighted that the government had proactively addressed part of the maturity of Eurobonds and other issues due to mature this year, reducing these from a total of 1.5 billion to 864 million US dollars in a timely operation.

The Finance Minister further elaborated on the domestic market, stating that the change in the debt profile is noteworthy with its new decentralized model. She underlined that Angola is on a satisfactory trajectory, moving away from figures that exceeded 100% of GDP.