§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which aspects of the Cologne G7 Summit agreement on debt relief have not been implemented by(a) the IMF, (b) the World bank and (c) individual countries. [118982]
§ Mr. TimmsThe World bank, the IMF and all individual creditor countries signed up to implementation of the enhanced HIPC Initiative at the IMF/World bank annual meetings last September.
Some individual countries, including the UK, have now gone further than last September's agreement, by committing to provide 100 per cent. relief on the commercial debts of countries qualifying under the HIPC initiative. The UK Government welcome these developments as a further step along the road to providing faster, wider and deeper debt relief, and encourages other countries to follow suit.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on establishing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Trust Fund; and what contributions have been made by(a) national and (b) international donors. [118983]
§ Mr. TimmsThe HIPC Trust Fund was set up last year to assist multilateral creditors meet the cost falling to them from the enhanced HIPC framework.
The total amounts pledged and contributed to the Trust Fund are equal to roughly $2.4 billion. (Australia has pledged $12 million; Austria $19 million; Belgium $40 million; Canada $104 million; Denmark $42 million; Finland $25 million; France $199 million; Germany $252 million; Greece $10 million; Ireland $20 million; Italy $162 million; Japan $200 million; Luxembourg $3 million; Netherlands $169 million; Norway $41 million; Portugal $22 million; Spain $128 million; Sweden $49 million; Switzerland $28 million; United Kingdom $359 million; US $600 million.)
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which countries have already received debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries 2 programme; how much they have received; what progress is being made to relieve debt; and when the debt relief will be received; [118981]
(2) what proposals he has for improving the speed and performance of the IMF implementation process of the heavily indebted poor countries initiatives. [118984]
§ Mr. TimmsBolivia, Mauritania, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique have all reached their decision points under the enhanced HIPC initiative and are receiving debt relief. Bolivia will receive over $2 billion in relief: a 637W 30 per cent. reduction in the net present value of its debt (additional to the relief already granted under the first HIPC initiative); Mauritania will receive $1.2 billion debt relief: a 50 per cent. reduction; Uganda $4.4 billion, or a 72 per cent. reduction; Tanzania $3 billion, or a reduction of 54 per cent.; and Mozambique £2 billion in debt relief, or a 40 per cent. reduction.
The UK was disappointed that, to date, only these five countries have started to receive relief under the enhanced HIPC initiative. In Washington, at the spring meetings of the IMF and World bank, shareholders re-affirmed their wish to see countries coming forward to decision point quickly.
The Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development recently wrote to the Acting Managing Director of the IMF and Chairman of the World bank, setting out their concerns over progress and urging them to consider the introduction of a HIPC Implementation Unit. The UK therefore welcomed the announcement by the Bank and Fund that they will be setting up a joint committee on HIPC implementation, as well as providing monthly briefing sessions to both Boards on the progress of individual countries under the initiative.