§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on agreeing international debt relief since the G8 summit in Birmingham last May. [62751]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 16 December 1998]: At the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Chancellor secured agreement on his efforts to maintain momentum towards meeting his Mauritius Mandate targets. Specifically it was agreed: to extend the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative from September 1998 to the end of 2000; to allow IMF post conflict assistance programmes to count towards a country's track record under the HIPC initiative; to move forward quickly on further proposals which recognise the special needs of post conflict countries, especially those with arrears to the International Financial Institutions; and to hold a wide-ranging review of the HIPC initiative in 1999.
The United Kingdom has recently been at the forefront of international efforts to help maintain the debt service burdens of those countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch. Following UK proposals, the International Financial Institutions have recently set up a trust fund for assistance to meet the multi-lateral debt service obligations of Nicaragua and Honduras. Last week the Paris Club of 752W official bilateral creditors agreed Honduras and Nicaragua should not have to make payments to their bilateral creditors over the next three years.