LUSAKA - Zambia is under debt distress and is requesting its creditors quickly complete debt restructuring, finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday.

"We appeal to our creditors to support us so that together we can quickly attain debt restructuring," Musokotwane said.

The copper-rich country in November 2020 became the first in Africa to default on its sovereign debt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)