§ Ms. LestorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total amount of official debt owed to the United Kingdom by each country in sub-Saharan Africa; and what proportion of their total official debt this represents.
§ Mrs. ChalkerFollowing the cancellation of £275 million of old aid debts for sub-Saharan Africa, remaining debt to ODA is insignificant. Debt owed to ECGD by sub-Saharan African countries as at 31 December 1988 was .1.868 billion (equivalent to about $3.25 billion at today's exchange rate). This amounts to around 4.5 per cent. of the $71.9 billion estimated in the IMF's October 1988 world economic outlook as sub-Saharan Africa's total long-term debt in 1988 to official creditors (including the international financial institutions except the IMF). Figures for debts owed to ECGD by individual countries are not published.