Zambia39;s debt restructuring has taken nearly 4 years
Country has been test case for G20 Common Framework mechanism
Other indebted countries have voiced concerns about process

LONDON, June 4 Reuters More than threeandahalf years, or 1,300 days, after resourcerich Zambia formally declared itself bankrupt it is about to drag itself out of default, leaving some hard lessons for richer nations about how their muchvaunted debt relief plan performed.

Tuesday will see its international bondholders vote through their part of a 13.4 billion debt restructuring and make Zambia the first to complete a fullblown rework under the G20led 39;Common Framework39; architecture.

Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia39;s president, has already described it as a historic moment and the head of the International Monetary Fund IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, has hailed it as a important sign of multilateral cooperation.

But for many involved in the daytoday work and repeated delays it will be more of a weary cheer than a celebratory fist shake.

It was painful for Zambia we fully recognise that, William Roos, the cochair of both the 39;Paris Club39; of richer Western creditor nations and of Zambia39;s Official Creditor Committee that included Zambia39;s biggest lender China, said at a debt conference in Paris on Friday .

So we have to improve. But we delivered.

The overall restructuring is estimated to cut around 900 million dollars from Zambia39;s debt and spread its future payments over a much…