HC Deb 01 March 2004 vol 418 cc709-10W
Tony Baldry

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the countries which have indicated support for the International Finance Facility; and which of these countries he expects to attend the Paris Conference in April. [157561]

Stephen Hesford

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with international finance ministers on the International Finance Facility. [158128]

John Healey

At the Dubai Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2003, the International Finance Facility (IFF) proposal received wide support from the international community. The World Bank and IMF were mandated to work on aid effectiveness, aid absorption and financing mechanisms including the IFF, and to report back at the Spring and Annual meetings this year.

At the meeting of G7 Finance Ministers at Boca Raton, Florida last month. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals through work on aid effectiveness, aid absorption and financing mechanisms including the International Finance Facility (IFF). This meeting built on the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Dubai in September 2003, where the World Bank and the IMF were mandated to do work on the IFF proposal, and to report back at the Spring and Annual meetings this year. In the same month the Commonwealth Finance Ministers welcomed further work on the IFF initiative.

The Dubai meetings also called for consultation of emerging markets and developing countries on the IFF proposal. As part of this consultation process, Francis Mer, the French Finance Minister, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer will jointly host a Ministerial Conference on Financing for Development in Paris on 8 April. This conference will bring together Finance and International Development Ministers from over 60 emerging market, developing and donor countries to discuss the case for increased aid and the IFF. Invitations have been issued to members of OECD/DAC, the G20, the IMF Committee and World Bank Development Committee, as well as countries acceding to the ED and representatives from Africa and the Asia-Europe meeting (ASEM). Representatives from multilateral agencies, NGOs and academics have also been invited.

Discussion of the IFF proposal will continue at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, where the Chancellor will chair the IMF Committee.