§ 19. Vera BairdTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about his policy towards the cancellation of the poorest countries' debts. [60357]
§ 20. Mr. LukeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on his policy towards the cancellation of debt in the world's poorest countries. [60358]
§ John HealeyThe Chancellor argued strongly for the further progress on debt that was made at the G7 meeting in Halifax, Canada, this weekend. The decision to complete the financing of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) trust fund will allow a further $1 billion (£677 million) of debt to be written off from the poorest countries' balance sheets.
That will help them adjust to the impact of the world economic slow down following the tragic events of September 11 and the collapse in commodity prices.
Under its 100 per cent. policy, the UK is already providing total debt relief to all eligible countries under the HIPC initiative and continues to use every opportunity to press other countries to do likewise.