§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the countries which have reached decision point in the highly indebted poor countries initiative will receive their irrevocable debt relief. [172463]
§ Hilary BennThirteen of the 27 countries that have qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative have reached Completion Point, the stage at which they receive an irrevocable reduction in their stock of debt. The next country expected to receive irrevocable debt relief is Ghana, which is expected to reach Completion Point by July 2004. A further five countries—Cameroon, Chad, Madagascar, Malawi and Rwanda—are expected to reach Completion Point by the end of 2004. Of the remaining countries, seven—Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone and Zambia—are expected to reach Completion Point in 2005, and one, the Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of 2006.