HC Deb 03 June 1998 vol 313 cc215-6W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Prime Minister how many of the G8 representatives have adopted the five provisions of the Mauritius Mandate. [43841]

The Prime Minister

Agreement was reached at both the G8 foreign and finance ministers meeting on 9 May and at the Birmingham Summit itself on issues raised in the Mauritius Mandate. Both meetings agreed to the speedy and determined implementation of debt relief to more countries under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and encouraged all eligible countries to have begun the process of securing debt relief by the year 2000. The meetings also urged all countries that had not already done so to forgive aid-related bilateral debt or to take comparable action for reforming poor countries, and to use export credits to countries eligible for debt relief under the HIPC initiative only for productive expenditure. These agreements follow directly from proposals originally made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Mauritius Mandate.

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Prime Minister what steps have been taken by his Ministers since 1 May 1997 to relieve the debt burden of the poorer Third World countries. [44015]

The Prime Minister

Since this Government came to office, they have taken an international lead in tackling the problem of debt relief for the world's most heavily indebted countries. In September my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched his Mauritius Mandate, which set out many proposals aimed at the speedy and determined implementation of debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Many of my right hon. Friend's proposals were endorsed by the G8 at the recent Summit in Birmingham, at which debt was a major issue.

Following another British initiative, launched by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the G8 foreign and finance ministers meeting on 9 May, agreement was also reached in Birmingham on the need to consider ways for debt relief mechanisms to be used to release more resources for essential rehabilitation in poor countries that have recently emerged from conflict, particularly where those countries have arrears to the International Financial Institutions.

Amongst other actions that the British Government have undertaken on debt relief, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer held a seminar on the issue which church leaders and charity directors at Downing Street; the Government took an international lead in helping to solve the problems of financing debt relief for Mozambique by announcing that they would donate a further $10 million to Mozambique above the debt relief already provided through the Paris Club and other mechanisms; and the Department for International Development announced that they will cancel up to a further £132 million of old aid loans to poor Commonwealth countries committed to structural reform.

The Government remain committed to the HIPC initiative, and will continue to strive to meet the targets for debt relief set out in the Mauritius Mandate.