§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy during the United Kingdom presidency of the EC to press for European fiscal and other measures to encourage European banks to write off commercial debt.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe United Kingdom, in common with its EC partners, is already encouraging commercial debt reduction through the Brady plan. This international agreement allows the IMF and World bank to devote some of their leading resources to facilitate voluntary debt reduction agreements between banks and debtors. As noted by the most recent International Monetary Fund —International Bank for Reconstruction and Development development committee communiqué, debt and debt service reduction arrangements that account for around 90 per cent. of the bank debt of the major debtor nations have now been reached.