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Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action her Department is taking to reduce the debtburden of the poorest countries. [100367]Clare Short: My Department has been working closely with the Treasury on the problem of unpayable debt. Our Government have played aleading role in seeking a permanent solution to the debt problems of the poorest countries. We successfully pressed for acomprehensive Review of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative last year. Proposals for revising the HIPC frameworkwere agreed in September 1999 at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. The HIPC initiative will now provide twice asmuch debt relief, and it will be provided more quickly and to more countries. There is also a much stronger link to poverty, toensure that the poor benefit from the debt relief provided.My Department has cancelled nearly all the aid debts of the poorest countries, worth around £1.2 billion since 1978, and we provideall our aid on grant terms, so as not to add to the burden of debt. We announced in 1997 that we are willing to cancel the aid debtsof the remaining poor Commonwealth countries who are committed to poverty reduction and the international development targets, whoare pursuing sound economic policies, who are committed to transparent and accountable government, and who are bearing down oncorruption.My Department also supports capacity building in debt management so that countries can better understand their debt position,negotiate their debt relief and formulate future borrowing strategies. |