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Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the Government's policy on tackling thedebts of the poorest nations. [29632]Mrs. Liddell: The Government are firmly committed to supporting debt relief for the poorest countries, including the relief offeredunder the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. In the IMF and World Bank Executive Boards, we have actively supportedgranting HIPC relief to Uganda, Bolivia, Burkina Faso and Guyana. We have also pressed for movement on other potentialbeneficiaries, including Mozambique. We have offered to provide up to $10 million to help Mozambique achieve debt sustainability ontop of debt relief and assistance the UK has already committed.Last September, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his Mauritius Mandate statement, called on the international community to commititself to dealing with the problem of unsustainable debt burdens faced by some poor countries once and for all. This represents achallenge for both creditors and debtors. Creditors should ensure that relief mechanisms are sufficiently flexible to deal with allcases. Debtors should show a commitment to sound economic policies, with a focus on productive expenditures such as basic healthcareand primary education, and demonstrate transparent and accountable decisionmaking. Debt relief is necessary to allow such countriesto continue to implement such policies, which are aimed at increasing the pro-poor economic growth that is needed for lastingpoverty reduction. |