ATHENS: Greece will finish repaying its bailout-era debts to the IMF by the end of April, some two years early, a source close to the government said Monday.

Greece has been ramping up its payment schedule as it looks to refresh its image on bond markets after a decade-long financial crisis.

Athens was forced to accept several international bailouts after borrowing on international debt markets became prohibitively expensive.

With the EU’s European Stability Mechanism having earlier confirmed that outstanding loans totalling 1.86 billion euros ($2 billion) can be settled early, waving an obligation for loans to the bloc to be made in parallel, “Greece is going to reimburse (the International Monetary Fund) by the end of April” the outstanding money, the source told AFP.

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After enduring a deep crisis from 2009-2019, Greece still has the EU’s highest public debt to GDP ratio.

Official forecasts put the 2022 figure at 189.6 percent of GDP, from 197.1 percent in 2021 and 206.3 percent a year earlier.

Ratings agency Fitch revised its forecast for Greece upwards from stable to positive at the start of the year, albeit before the conflict in Ukraine erupted.

It noted a combination of stronger growth than expected and falling debt as pandemic-linked state aid reduces substantially.