§ Dr. Kim HowellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government have plans to discuss further the rescheduling of the external debts of those countries in South America which are currently allocating significant resources to the task of preserving remaining areas of natural rain forest.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe Government recognise that many of those countries in South America with large areas of rain forest face serious debt problems.
The Paris club is always ready to discuss, where necessary, the rescheduling of official debt for countries pursuing IMF-agreed economic reform programmes.
Much of the South American countries' debt belongs to commercial banks: arrangements for dealing with this debt are a matter for negotiation between the debtor countries and the banks within the framework of the strengthened debt strategy.