§ Dr. CableTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the debt owed to the United Kingdom by highly indebted poor countries relates to defence-related business expressed in (a) cash terms and (b) as a proportion of total debt. [108767]
§ Mr. CabornI have been asked to reply.
Debt owed by Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) to ECGD under Paris Club rescheduling arrangements amounts to £1.6 billion. In addition non-rescheduled debt in arrears and current exposure is some £300 million. Much of the rescheduled debt relates to contracts entered into during the 1970s and 1980s, when ECGD did not record exposure by the nature of the goods exported. However recent researches indicate that the amount of debt, all rescheduled, currently owed by HIPCs in respect of defence-related business is £12.7 million or 0.67 per cent. of the total owed.
§ Mr. StreeterTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used for selecting the countries that will no longer be supplied with military equipment under the guarantee of the Export Credits Guarantee Department. [109201]
§ Mr. CabornI have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 11 January 2000 an extension to the UK's unilateral ban on export credits in respect of "unproductive expenditure" to include a further 22 countries. The additional countries are those which are allowed to borrow on highly concessional terms from the World Bank—the so called "IDA only" countries. These 217W countries, while they do not have an historically large debut burden, can ill afford to take on new burdens of commercial loans for unproductive expenditure.
This built on the earlier initiative announced at the 1997 Commonwealth Finance Ministers' meeting in Mauritius, which applied to the so called Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. The ban now applies to 63 countries: a full list is below.
Applications for ECGD cover of projects in these countries will be measured against whether they meet the following indicative criteria:
- assist social and economic development; or
- be of maximum benefit to areas most affected by poverty; or
- tackle problem areas where private investment is not available; or
- wherever possible, earn foreign exchange; or encourage viable self-financing projects.
These principles need not necessarily preclude ECGD support for the sale of defence or dual use equipment, provided that such equipment is, for example, deemed essential for national security, or required to combat the drugs trade, piracy, smuggling etc. Support for projects must be cleared with the Department for International Development, who must be satisfied that the expenditure is consistent with the above.
- 1. Afghanistan
- 2. Albania
- 3. Angola
- 4. Bangladesh
- 5. Benin
- 6. Bhutan
- 7. Bolivia
- 8. Burkina Faso
- 9. Burundi
- 10. Cambodia
- 11. Cameroon
- 12. Cape Verde
- 13. Central African Republic
- 14. Chad
- 15. Comoros
- 16. Cote d'Ivoire
- 17. Democratic Republic of Congo
- 18. Djibouti
- 19. Equatorial Guinea
- 20. Eritrea
- 21. Ethiopia
- 22. Ghana
- 23. Guinea
- 24. Guinea-Bissau
- 25. Guyana
- 26. Haiti
- 27. Honduras
- 28. Kenya
- 29. Kiribati
- 30. Lao People's Democratic Republic
- 31. Lesotho
- 32. Liberia
- 33. Madagascar
- 34. Malawi
- 35. Maldives
218W - 36. Mali
- 37. Mauritania
- 38. Mongolia
- 39. Mozambique
- 40. Myanmar
- 41. Nepal
- 42. Nicaragua
- 43. Niger
- 44. Republic of Congo
- 45. Republic of Yemen
- 46. Rwanda
- 47. Samoa
- 48. Sao Tome and Principe
- 49. Senegal
- 50. Sierra Leone
- 51. Solomon Islands
- 52. Somalia
- 53. Sri Lanka
- 54. Sudan
- 55. Tajikistan
- 56. Tanzania
- 57. The Gambia
- 58. Togo
- 59. Tonga
- 60. Uganda
- 61. Vanuatu
- 62. Vietnam
- 63. Zambia