§
Clare Short
The UK has written off all its aid loans to the poorest countries. At 1 April 1997, outstanding aid loans of £389,796,841 (principal £341,629,947; interest £48,166,894) owed by developing countries were included in DFID's accounts. By 31 March 2001, this figure had been reduced significantly to £201,835,945 (principal £192,833,981; interest £9,001,964). Table 1 shows, by country, the balance of outstanding aid loans at 1 April 1997 and at 31 March 2001. Bilateral agreements have been reached with all the countries shown in italic on waiving scheduled payments as they become due.
Table 2 sets out, by country, the amount of principal Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) debt outstanding at 31 May 1997 and at 31 December 2001. The figures show a reduction in the residual balance from £1.746 billion to £1.355 billion respectively. Included in these figures are the debts owed by the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), as shown in ECGD's accounts. However, under the Government's 100 per cent, bilateral debt relief policy, no further payments are required from these countries once they qualify for HIPC debt relief, and any amounts received are held in trust and, once they reach their HIPC Decision Point, are returned to the countries for poverty reduction.
| Table 1. Aid debt outstanding at 1 April 1997 and at 31 March 2001 |
| £ |
|
Principal |
interest |
| Balance at 1 April 1997 |
| Afghanistan |
132,700 |
— |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
2,758,448 |
— |
139W
| Table 1: Aid debt outstanding at 1 April 1997 and at 31 March 2001 |
| £ |
|
Principal |
interest |
| Bangladesh |
1,285,136 |
— |
| Barbados |
213,470 |
38,534 |
| Belize |
14,875,130 |
— |
| Bolivia |
11,658 |
— |
| Botswana |
1,219,906 |
— |
| Brazil |
2,329,338 |
572,259 |
| Cameroon |
66,776 |
— |
| Cayman Islands |
303,158 |
— |
| Columbia |
439,985 |
5,012 |
| Costa Rica |
1,891,912 |
215,713 |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
2,549,746 |
324,005 |
| Cyprus |
181,774 |
— |
| Dominica |
7,002,332 |
— |
| Ecuador |
9,643,482 |
4,205,444 |
| Egypt |
4,943,629 |
10,644 |
| Ethiopia |
238,341 |
— |
| Falkland Islands |
16,226 |
— |
| Gambia |
166,700 |
— |
| Ghana |
15,179,211 |
128,503 |
| Gibraltar |
238,685 |
555 |
| Grenada |
2,679,508 |
— |
| Guyana |
32,747,578 |
10,923,653 |
| Honduras |
2,471,143 |
— |
| India |
21,596,646 |
— |
| Indonesia |
1,491,259 |
— |
| Jamaica |
44,391,246 |
15,996,191 |
| Jordan |
28,491,054 |
1,565,752 |
| Kenya |
216,226 |
11,261 |
| Laos |
6,615 |
— |
| Liberia |
77,749 |
696 |
| Malawi |
1,503,200 |
— |
| Malaysia |
3,911,559 |
525,755 |
| Mauritius |
1,225,959 |
126,605 |
| Mozambique |
5,910,104 |
— |
| Nicaragua |
439,906 |
— |
| Nigeria |
4,905,084 |
24,425 |
| Pakistan |
3,616,377 |
— |
| Paraguay |
2,228,693 |
— |
| Peru |
5,533,790 |
1,635,351 |
| Philippines |
3,696,288 |
243,078 |
| Senegal |
412,330 |
32,450 |
| Seychelles |
7,885,674 |
794,690 |
| Sierra Leone |
89,438 |
— |
| Sri Lanka |
503,116 |
— |
| Solomon Islands |
2,400,300 |
— |
| St. Kitts |
3,022,870 |
— |
| St. Lucia |
3,166,300 |
— |
| St. Vincent |
3,684,000 |
— |
| Sudan |
631,972 |
— |
| Swaziland |
2,721,933 |
— |
| Tonga |
502,703 |
— |
| Tunisia |
26,661 |
394 |
| Turkey |
29,462,755 |
7,987,136 |
| TCI |
1,751,517 |
296,566 |
| Western Samoa |
15,991 |
— |
| Zambia |
38,749,686 |
1,678,732 |
| Zimbabwe |
13,605,329 |
823,490 |
|
341,629,947 |
48,166,894 |
| Balance at 31 March 2001 |
| Afghanistan |
12,500 |
— |
| Antigua and Barbuda |
1,687,028 |
— |
| Bangladesh |
— |
— |
| Barbados |
58,670 |
3,555 |
| Belize |
10,499,785 |
— |
| Bolivia |
— |
— |
| Botswana |
11,788 |
— |
| Brazil |
1,286,002 |
215,658 |
| Cameroon |
— |
— |
| Cayman Islands |
59,855 |
— |
140W
| Table 1: Aid debt outstanding at 1 April 1997 and at 31 March 2001 |
| £ |
|
Principal |
interest |
| Columbia |
119,469 |
— |
| Costa Rica |
283,628 |
29,910 |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
1,684,482 |
149,142 |
| Cyprus |
100,174 |
— |
| Dominica |
4,706,732 |
— |
| Ecuador |
7,418,148 |
— |
| Egypt |
2,550,561 |
— |
| Ethiopia |
— |
— |
| Falkland Islands |
— |
— |
| Gambia |
— |
— |
| Ghana |
6,071,474 |
— |
| Gibraltar |
— |
— |
| Grenada |
432,113 |
— |
| Guyana |
23,690,803 |
4,721,195 |
| Honduras |
1,164,476 |
— |
| India |
— |
— |
| Indonesia |
— |
— |
| Jamaica |
26,071,930 |
— |
| Jordan |
17,052,754 |
— |
| Kenya |
— |
7,975 |
| Laos |
— |
— |
| Liberia |
— |
— |
| Malawi |
96,000 |
— |
| Malaysia |
1,846,759 |
114,004 |
| Mauritius |
202,712 |
28,076 |
| Mozambique |
907,703 |
— |
| Nicaragua |
398,200 |
— |
| Nigeria |
4,905,084 |
24,425 |
| Pakistan |
— |
— |
| Paraguay |
1,290,293 |
— |
| Peru |
4,851,901 |
— |
| Philippines |
1,375,335 |
122,570 |
| Senegal |
160,329 |
— |
| Seychelles |
7,885,673 |
794,690 |
| Sierra Leone |
— |
— |
| Sri Lanka |
— |
— |
| Solomon Islands |
1,289,100 |
— |
| St. Kitts |
2,734,970 |
— |
| St. Lucia |
1,832,700 |
— |
| St. Vincent |
3,026,000 |
— |
| Sudan |
— |
— |
| Swaziland |
371,600 |
— |
| Tonga |
75,403 |
— |
| Tunisia |
— |
— |
| Turkey |
16,089,505 |
2,420,778 |
| TCI |
1,091,005 |
109,745 |
| Western Samoa |
— |
— |
| Zambia |
28,210,917 |
— |
| Zimbabwe |
9,229,420 |
260,241 |
|
192,833,981 |
9,001,964 |
| Table 2: ECGD debt outstanding at 31 May 1997 and at 31 December 2001 |
|
£ million |
|
Residual balance |
| Country |
31 May 1997 |
31 December 2001 |
| Angola |
56.432 |
56.432 |
| Benin |
2.968 |
2.968 |
| Bolivia |
18.810 |
0.000 |
| Bosnia |
4.935 |
1.711 |
| Burkina Faso |
1.031 |
1.031 |
| Cameroon |
94.161 |
66.696 |
| Central African Republic |
0.615 |
0.371 |
| Congo |
159.111 |
159.111 |
| Cote d'Ivoire |
35.795 |
30.445 |
| Croatia |
93.830 |
74.894 |
141W
| Table 2: ECGD debt outstanding at 31 May 1997 and at 31 December 2001 |
| £ million |
|
Residual balance |
| Country |
31 May 1997 |
31 December 2001 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo |
97.728 |
90.051 |
| Egypt |
166.082 |
145.390 |
| Ethiopia |
17.932 |
12.031 |
| Guinea Republic |
4.643 |
3.609 |
| Guyana |
47.192 |
34.348 |
| Kenya |
54.853 |
21.369 |
| Liberia |
7.276 |
7.276 |
| Macedonia |
5.948 |
4.628 |
| Madagascar |
29.774 |
27.662 |
| Malawi |
0.767 |
0.497 |
| Mali |
4.617 |
4.617 |
| Mauritania |
8.611 |
6.163 |
| Mozambique |
116.960 |
16.731 |
| Nicaragua |
1.086 |
1.086 |
| Niger |
12.073 |
9.265 |
| Senegal |
3.302 |
1.697 |
| Sierra Leone |
3.889 |
3.889 |
| Somalia |
17.603 |
17.603 |
| Sudan |
173.745 |
173.745 |
| Tanzania |
161.431 |
112.959 |
| Togo |
15.123 |
14.264 |
| Uganda |
14.827 |
0.000 |
| Vietnam |
10.421 |
10.359 |
| Yemen |
9.624 |
3.071 |
| Zambia |
293.565 |
240.016 |
| Totals |
1,746.760 |
1,355.985 |