HC Deb 15 May 2002 vol 385 cc683-4W
6. Mr. Bacon

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made on debt relief for poor countries. [54742]

Clare Short

So far, 26 out of a total of 42 countries have qualified for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, and we expect Cote d'lvoire to qualify soon. Five countries either are not opting or do not qualify for HIPC. Many of the remaining countries are in conflict and cannot gain debt relief until they make peace.

11. Dr. Murrison

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made on debt relief for poor countries. [54748]

Clare Short

So far, 26 out of a total of 42 countries have qualified for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, and by the autumn, Cote d'lvoire could be added to the list of countries benefiting from the Initiative. Relief of more than US$60 billion will be provided to these countries, reducing their debts by more than two-thirds on average. Of the 26 countries, 21 have reached decision point and are receiving interim debt relief on their 'flow' of payment, and five have completed the HIPC process, and have received an irrevocable reduction in their stock of debt. We hope that a further three will reach their completion point this year. The prospects for the remaining eleven unsustainable countries are not good. Six—Burundi, Congo Republic, Liberia, Myanmar, Somalia and Sudan—are still affected by conflict; Togo has governance problems; Central African Republic, DR Congo and Comoros might go through next year and Lao PDR is undecided as to whether to opt for HIPC relief. Angola, Kenya, Vietnam and Yemen are regarded as sustainable cases, eligible for relief from the Paris Club.