§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the application of Tanzania for debt relief. [118038]
§ Mr. FoulkesAlthough it is one of the world's poorest countries, over recent years Tanzania has made important progress in introducing structural reforms and stabilising its economy. Despite limited resources, with help from its international partners including Britain, Tanzania, to its credit, has met most of its very substantial external debt obligations. It has now begun to repay domestic debt arrears and is refocusing its budget on poverty reduction. As a result, the Boards of the World bank and the IMF agreed last week to support a comprehensive debt reduction package under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. This be worth about US$3 billion over 20 years from all creditors and will be used by the Government of Tanzania for additional public expenditures on poverty reduction measures. Pending achievement of a number of conditions, including preparation of a comprehensive poverty Reduction Strategy taking account of the views of civil society, interim relief from the IMF and the IDA will begin this month.