ACCRA, June 12 (Reuters) – Ghana has finalized a pact with its official creditor committee to formalise a debt restructuring deal agreed in January, smoothing the path towards a release of further funding from the International Monetary Fund, its finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The outlines of the agreement pave the way for approval by the IMF’s executive board for a second review of a $3 billion loan package and release of the next tranche of $360 million.

“The IMF Board’s approval should also trigger more financial assistance from our development partners, particularly the World Bank,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

The announcement confirms a Reuters report last week that a memorandum of agreement was about to be formalised.

Ghana is restructuring its debt to help it emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation after defaulting on much of its overseas debt in 2022 amid soaring servicing costs.

Each creditor nation is now expected to sign the agreement individually, the ministry said, adding it would also bolster ongoing restructuring discussions with private creditors.

Ghana’s sovereign dollar bonds were little changed by 0837 GMT, with most issues trading between 50-51 cents on the dollar, a distressed level that suggests the market expects trims on private debt.

The financial terms of the agreement with official creditors remained unchanged from the deal agreed in January, the ministry said, adding it provided “significant debt service relief” during the period of the IMF-supported programme.

Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, is also facing cocoa delivery delays due to poor harvests, a move that could cut its income and compound debt distress

(Reporting by Maxwell Adombila Akalaare; Additional reporting by Libby George in London; Writing by Sofia Christensen and Duncan Miriri; Editing by Bernadette Baum)