HL Deb 31 January 2005 vol 669 cc19-20WA
Lord Lamont of Lerwick

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What amount of Algerian sovereign debt or debt of state-owned companies is owed to the United Kingdom; and whether there have been any negotiations or discussions about this between the two governments. [HL849]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

The Republic of Algeria's sovereign debt owed to the United Kingdom consists of sums covered by two active Paris Club debt agreements with Algeria. Agreement 1 was signed on 7 December 1994. Agreement 2 was signed on 18 February 1996. The current residual balance (amount of principal still to be repaid) is, on Agreement 1 £51,476,289 and on Agreement 2 £78,142,428. The total outstanding balance is therefore £129,618,717. Principal repayments began on 31 May 1998 and are due to end on 30 November 2011. Both agreements use Sterling LIBOR + 0.5 per cent as the moratorium interest rate.