Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Thursday that the country would not need to implement a debt restructuring plan, despite facing particularly challenging repayment deadlines this year, Reuters reported.

Sonko acknowledged the repayment pressures but expressed confidence in the government’s approach. "We consider our projections for both growth and revenue to be reasonable, and there is no debate on this point. They have been validated by all our partners, including the Fund. The main problem is financing," he said during a joint press conference with Mauritania's prime minister, according to Reuters.

The West African nation’s debt stood at 132 percent of GDP at the end of 2024, following the discovery of billions in previously unreported obligations from the prior administration. The revelation prompted the International Monetary Fund to freeze a $1.8 billion lending programme, forcing Senegal to rely heavily on regional debt auctions to meet its financing needs, Reuters noted.

Analysts and investors have increasingly suggested that the government may need to restructure. However, Sonko, who had addressed a rally in November, insisted Senegal was resisting IMF pressure to do so. "All the work we have done allows us to see a possibility of getting out of this situation without the need for restructuring," he told Reuters.

Finance Minister Cheikh Diba said last week that Senegal hopes to finalise a programme with the IMF "very quickly," adding that progress had been made on multiple issues related to managing the country’s debt crisis, Reuters reported. Sonko added, "Based on our analysis, we consider our debt to be sustainable, as we have been managing to repay it for a year and a half."