§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards the creation of special drawing rights at the international financial institutions as a means of lessening the multilateral debt problems of the world's poorest countries.
§ Sir John CopeThe articles of the IMF prescribe that allocations of special drawing rights should be made to address global liquidity shortages. No such shortages exist at present and, in the Government's view, the case for a general allocation has not therefore been made.
The world's poorest countries are eligible for and receive financial assistance on concessional terms from the international financial institutions, particularly through the IMF's enhanced structural adjustment facility and the World Bank's International Development Agency's credits. The agency's fifth dimension facility also assists the poorest countries with loan repayments. Net financial flows from the institutions to the poorest countries remain substantially positive.