§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proposals her Department has for strengthening the linkage between debt relief and poverty reduction. [58162]
§ Clare ShortIn providing bilateral debt relief, my Department examines closely the commitment of recipient governments to the achievement of the international development targets, to transparent government, and to the rooting out of corruption and mismanagement. In this way, we can be confident that those funds that would have been spent on debt service will be redirected towards poverty reducing activities such as healthcare and primary education. We encourage other bilateral donors to apply the same criteria when providing debt relief.
We are pressing for the relationship between debt relief and poverty reduction to be examined by the IMF and World Bank as part of the forthcoming fundamental 583W review of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, and for any lessons learned to be applied in implementing the programme.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps were taken at the recent IMF/World Bank annual meeting to improve the terms and conditions of debt relief initiatives for developing countries. [58184]
§ Clare ShortMinisters endorsed the extension of the entry deadline for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative from 1998 to the end of 2000, to give more countries a chance to qualify. They also agreed to add a degree of flexibility to the process for countries receiving post-conflict assistance programmes. A decision was taken to carry out a comprehensive review of the Initiative as early as 1999. We shall be pressing for this review to consider carefully whether the current HIPC Initiative delivers adequate debt relief to those countries in need.