Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has arrived in Paris as the southern African nation’s creditors, including China, close in on a deal to restructure its debts after years of delays.

Hichilema said on Wednesday that he would stand alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and Chinese premier Li Qiang at a global finance and climate summit starting on Thursday — a signal that Zambia’s leader expected an agreement “in the next few days”.

Africa’s second-biggest copper producer has been left in financial limbo since its 2020 default. It has been unable to continue accessing a $1.3bn IMF bailout, as China, the country’s biggest creditor, and other lenders have clashed over proposals to reduce the value of around $13bn of external debts by roughly half.