§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the progress of debt relief for post-conflict countries. [58186]
§ Ms HewittI have been asked to reply.
At the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting in Ottawa, the Chancellor stated his commitment to assisting post-conflict countries, urging the IMF and World Bank to move forward quickly on proposals which recognise their special needs.
Post-conflict countries were also discussed at the recent Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington. The Development Committee of the IMF and World Bank recognised that for a number of countries, especially those with large and protracted arrears to multilateral institutions, the international community should explore additional ways to provide assistance more quickly and effectively. Bank and Fund staff were asked to develop guidelines and to report back to the Committee at the Spring Meetings in April. It was also agreed that interim assistance to post-conflict countries would be taken as counting towards their track-record under the HIPC Initiative.