Investing.com -- Venezuela announced Wednesday that it has started a comprehensive process to restructure its sovereign and state oil company debt, following the lifting of U.S. sanctions earlier this year.

The economics and finance ministry said the restructuring aims to "put the economy at the service of the Venezuelan people and free the country from the burden of accumulated debt."

"Venezuela demonstrated solvency throughout the years, fully complying with all its international obligations. This capacity and willingness to meet our financial commitments was impeded from 2017 onward as a result of financial sanctions," the government said.

The ministry added that "for too long, the country has been deprived of normal access to financing, and its economy lost the capacity to invest in health, electricity, water, education, infrastructure, productive recovery, and the well-being of its population."

The restructuring process seeks to secure substantial debt relief for the country and its population, officials said.

In 2017, President Donald Trump imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela to restrict the Maduro regime's access to capital. In January, U.S. troops captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation, bringing him to the U.S. where he was indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy and other charges alongside his wife Cilia Flores.

Under interim President Delcy Rodriguez, relations between the two countries have improved. In April, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on Rodriguez's government. Trump said earlier this year that Venezuela would ship sanctioned oil to the U.S., which would be sold at market rates with proceeds controlled by the White House.

Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world at 303 billion barrels, representing 17% of global reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Last month, the IMF and the World Bank resumed dealings with Venezuela, enabling a full IMF assessment of Venezuela's economy for the first time in approximately 20 years. The organizations had paused their dealings with Venezuela in 2019 over government recognition issues.

Venezuelan government bonds have increased in value since Maduro's deposition in January.