§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the countries that have received help through the HIPC process who now have debt repayments that are sustainable; and if she will make a statement. [90042]
§ Clare ShortTwenty-six countries have qualified for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Of these, six countries (Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda) have reached their completion point and are receiving full debt relief. The remaining 20 (Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Zambia) are receiving interim relief. The main objective of the initiative is to ensure that countries exit the HIPC process with sustainable levels of debt. The HIPC Initiative has the flexibility to provide, when appropriate, additional debt relief at completion point. The UK is pressing the World bank and the IMF to widen their approach to topping up, so that any HIPC eligible country facing unsustainable debts, that has demonstrated its commitment to poverty reduction and economic reform, should qualify for this additional relief.