§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department has taken to eradicate third world debt; and what steps have been taken to encourage other European states to fulfil their role on this issue. [33490]
§ Hilary BennThe Government have played a major role in tackling the unsustainable debt burden of the poorest countries. We led the way in securing the revision of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which was agreed in September 1999. Up to US$100 billion debt could be written off for the 42 HIPC countries. So far, 24 countries have qualified for this exceptional relief, and these countries will receive more than $54 billion of debt relief, so reducing their debts by more than two-thirds on average. We hope that at least two more countries—Ghana and Sierra Leone—will qualify for debt relief in the coming months, but substantial further progress will be difficult, as many of the remaining HIPC countries are affected by conflict.
The UK is the second largest contributor ($306 million) to the HIPC Trust Fund to help the Multilateral Development Banks meet their share of HIPC costs. This figure includes our share ($85 million) of the substantial EC contribution of US$661 million for which we pressed. Most of our partner states in the European Union have also made bilateral contributions to the trust fund, on top of their share of the EC contribution. In addition, those member states that are major creditors deliver bilateral debt relief through the Paris Club of Official Bilateral Creditors to countries that have qualified for HIPC relief, with the majority—like the UK—providing 100 per cent, debt relief on their remaining bilateral debts.