§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether she will list the developing country debts which have been cancelled since May 1997, broken down by country and by year of cancellation; and if she will make a statement. [26691]
§ Clare ShortSince 1978, the UK has cancelled its aid loans to all the poorest countries worth some £1.2 billion. Table 1 lists, by country and year, all scheduled aid payments that have been waived since April 1997. Payments are written off as they become due. The position of the loan with Belize is under annual review. They have failed to qualify for debt relief under the Commonwealth Debt Initiative and are being asked to recommence payments. The Antigua and Barbuda loans were waived for a specified period only to help with the resettlement of Montserrat citizens following the volcanic eruptions.
The remaining debts are owed to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD). For some developing countries, payments are being written off through the Paris Club for Official Bilateral Creditors. For countries qualifying for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, much of their Paris Club debt is written off. In December 1999, the UK Government announced that we would provide 100 per cent. debt relief on all ECGD debt for qualifying HIPC countries to free up more resources for poverty reduction. Table 2 sets out, by country and year, all developing countries debts to ECGD that have been written off since May 1997.
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Table 1: Development debts cancelled since 1 April 1997 (by financial year) 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Principal interest Principal interest Principal interest Principal interest Gambia 112,000 — 54,700 — — — — — Ghana 2,364,462 11,243 2,364,462 7,782 2,364,461 4,320 1,736,551 — Ivory Coast 216,999 55,490 216,861 52,224 215,705 45,030 215,705 39,872 Kenya 204,617 2,502 — — — — — — Liberia — — — — 81,558 696 — — Malawi 671,400 — 435,800 — 168,000 — 132,000 — Mauritius 191,850 — 383,700 22,803 174,091 22,308 45,600 14,214 Mozambique 1,250,600 — 1,250,600 — 1,250,600 — 1,250,600 — Senegal 56,000 7,406 56,000 6,287 56,000 4,166 56,000 4,046 Sierra Leone 73,200 — 16,558 — — — — — Sudan 342,000 — 289,972 — — — — — Zambia 2,605,500 369,240 2,577,565 318,253 2,549,200 267,269 2,549,200 216,285 Antigua and Barbuda 535,710 — 357,140 — 357,140 — — — Barbados 38,700 — 38,700 9,906 38,700 7,584 38,700 5,262 Belize — — 1,145,924 — 1,458,448 — — — Bolivia 81,556 — — — — — — — Dominica 270,500 — 541,000 — 541,000 — 541,000 — Grenada 1,257,200 — 625,200 — 625,200 — 371,796 — Guyana 826,200 1,669,480 1,765,943 1,643,234 3,011,990 1,525,021 3,452,642 1,364,724 Honduras 280,000 — 280,000 — 373,333 — 373,333 — Jamaica — — 5,372,077 1,923,011 3,862,234 1,653,682 3,060,712 1,452,483 Nicaragua 36,200 — 5,506 — — — — — Peru 204,600 136,049 194,149 150,873 168,439 145,552 146,630 140,780 St. Kitts and Nevis — — — — 287,900 — — — St. Lucia — — 333,400 — 333,400 — 333,400 — TCI 82,564 18,565 165,128 32,923 165,128 27,890 165,128 22,857 Afghanistan 33,340 — 33,340 — 29,170 — 25,000 — Bangladesh 559,285 — 433,400 — 292,451 — — — India 11,416,827 — 7,747,819 — 2,432,000 — — — Indonesia 871,024 — 620,224 — — — — — Jordan 3,725,173 386,614 2,263,434 333,785 1,515,700 280,957 1,451,200 228,129 Laos 2,670 — 2,670 — 1,275 — — — Pakistan 1,593,312 — 1,425,012 — 750,665 — — — Solomon Islands — — 2,544,120 — 277,800 — 277,800 — Sri Lanka 259,915 — 167,000 — 76,200 — — — Tonga 65,600 — 131,300 — 82,400 — 82,400 — Western Somao 9,400 — 6,591 — — — — — 32,093,648 2,669,136 34,874,798 4,503,178 24,064,991 3,984,475 16,735,375 3,488,652
Table 2: Developing country debts to ECGD written off since 1 May 1997 £ million Amounts written off Country 19971 1998 1999 2000 2001 Bolivia 0.000 6.492 0.000 0.000 12.305 Bosnia 0.000 3.221 0.000 0.000 0.000 Cameroon 4.741 2.706 3.151 5.056 9.168 Central African Republic 0.000 0.156 0.044 0.028 0.013 Cote D'Ivoire 1.142 2.817 1.166 0.000 0.000 Egypt 2.350 0.980 0.000 0.000 0.000 Ethiopia 0.000 0.000 0.288 0.518 0.228 Guinea Republic 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.115 0.519 Guyana 0.000 0.000 12.502 0.000 0.000 Madagascar 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.187 1.297 Malawi 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.096 Mauritania 0.109 0.054 0.661 0.526 0.531 Mozambique 3.627 5.386 12.447 0.000 78.541 Niger 0.213 0.313 0.338 0.715 1.229 Senegal 0.000 1.529 0.000 0.015 0.051 Tanzania 1.977 4.617 5.570 18.144 15.121 Togo 0.484 0.288 0.000 0.000 0.000 Uganda 0.000 8.684 0.000 5.958 0.000 Zambia 0.000 0.000 20.740 16.871 15.938 Total 14.643 37.243 56.907 48.133 135.037 1 From 1 May 1997 Note:
This table includes 100 per cent. debt relief for those countries which have reached completion point under the HIPC Debt initiative.