§ 28. Dr. NaysmithTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to ensure that the work done to reduce the debt burden of highly indebted poor countries and other countries is not undermined by recent declines in commodity prices. [69900]
§ Clare ShortThe Government have been working to try to ensure that countries exit the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative process with sustainable debt levels. At the Annual Meetings of the World bank and IMF we asked the World bank staff to revisit the debt sustainability analyses of all commodity dependent low-income countries, including HIPCs. The IMF and World bank analysis shows that, although the situation varies from country to country, the external debt indicators for most HIPC countries have deteriorated, and several HIPC countries now face unsustainable debt burdens as a result. Following UK pressure, the World bank and IMF Boards have agreed to provide additional relief to countries in this situation. This was reconfirmed at the Spring meetings, in April, and Burkina Faso became the first HIPC country to benefit from 'topping up' at Completion Point.