Description
The debt problem facing poor countries has been at the heart of Commonwealth concerns since the 1980s. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative has made important strides in providing comprehensive debt relief to the world’s poorest, most heavily indebted countries, cutting the total external debt of 26 out of the 42 eligible countries by two-thirds.
The report presents discussions held at the 2003 Dar es Salaam HIPC Ministerial Forum and calls for a number of actions to deal with both immediate concerns and the issues surrounding long-term debt sustainability in HIPCs.
Contents
Foreword
Executive Summary
Introduction
Participation of Smaller Creditors
Topping Up, Exogenous Shocks and an HIPC Insurance Facility
Long-term Export Growth, Market Access and Investment for Diversification
Net Borrowing, Terms of Donor Financing and Debt Management
Domestic Debt and Broader Fiscal Sustainability
1. HIPC Initiative Progress Update
1.1 Decision Point Countries
1.2 Completion Point Countries
1.3 Committed Debt Relief and Expected Cost
2. Participation of Smaller Creditors
2.1 Non-Paris Club Bilateral Creditors
2.2 Smaller Multilateral Creditors
2.3 Commercial Creditors
2.4 Creditor Litigation against HIPCs
3. Exogenous Shocks and an HIPC Insurance Facility
3.1 Recent External Debt Indicators
3.2 Topping Up at Completion Point
3.3 Future Projections and Vulnerability to Shocks
3.4 An HIPC Insurance Facility
4. Promoting Improved Market Access and Diversification and Investment in HIPCs
4.1 Market Access for HIPC Products
4.2 Investment for Export Diversification
4.3 Agricultural Subsidies in Industrial Countries
5. New Borrowing Terms of Donor Finance and External Debt Management
5.1 New Borrowing
5.2 Terms of Donor Finance, Including Grants
5.3 Debt Management
6. Domestic Debt and Fiscal Sustainability
6.1 Extent of the Domestic Debt Burden
6.2 Measures to Deal with Excessive Domestic Debt Burden
Ministerial Statement
Tables
Figures