§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what payments were received by the United Kingdom Government and United266W Kingdom Government agencies on official bilateral debt, from the countries defined by the World Bank as severely indebted low income countries in 1990 and 1991; and what payments are estimated to be made by those countries in 1992.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydFigures for official bilateral debt repayments to the ODA, Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and ECGD are given in the tables.
It is important to consider these figures in context. Significant outflows of aid to the severely indebted low income countries (SILICs) continue to overshadow debt repayments made to the ODA. The net transfer of finance from CDC to the SILICs is also positive over the period in question.
The figure given below for payments to ECGD in 1992 may well, of course, be higher than the amount actually paid. In particular, no attempt has been made to estimate the impact of future Paris Club agreements on Trinidad terms. Agreement to begin implementing the Prime Minister's Trinidad terms initiative to relieve the burden of debt on the poorest countries was achieved in December. Five countries have already benefited from the terms, and we expect more to do so, including some of those defined as SILICs, over the coming months. As these new agreements take effect, we can expect a significant reduction in repayments due to ECGD.
(a) Loan repayments from SILICs to the ODA (£) Received 1990–91
Received 1991–92
Expected 1992–93
3,067,664 3,067,664 785,530 Figures for payments received by and due to the ODA are recorded on a financial year basis.
(b) Loan repayments from SILICs to the CDC (£) Received 1990
Received 1991
Expected 1992
33,902,000 28,071,000 33,138,235 Figures show the CDC's total receipts from the SILICs, whether from the private or public sector.
(b)Repayments from SILICs to the ECGD (£) Received 1990
Received 1991
Due 1992
251,000.000 275,000,000 509,000,000 Figures shown for 1990 and 1991 are in respect of officially guaranteed debt rescheduled through the Paris club. The figure for 1992 shows payments due on the same rescheduled debt, not including arrears which were outstanding as of 31 December 1991.
Notes:
Those countries currently defined as severely indebted low income countries (SILICs) by the World Bank are Burundi, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire and Zambia.