Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Developing Countries’ Debt: Private Creditors

Wednesday 10 June 2020 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Mary Foy welcomed the Government's role in the G20's suspension of bilateral debt payments for the world's poorest countries.
  • The UK has taken action on debt relief measures but emphasizes the need to focus on immediate urgent needs first.
  • International development banks are committing $200 billion into developing countries over the next 15 months due to the current situation.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Mary Foy Lab Ardleith
Foreign Affairs
Context

The UK, G20, and Paris Club have suspended debt repayments from the world's poorest countries for 2020. The World Bank has not yet acted on debt relief despite it being a critical issue during the pandemic.

Question

Mary Foy welcomes the Government's role in the G20's suspension of bilateral debt payments due in 2020 from the world's poorest countries and their donation to an IMF scheme for covid-19. However, she notes that the World Bank has not acted on debt relief. She asks what actions the UK will take to ensure that the World Bank cancels debt payments to support the world's poorest.

Answer from James Duddridge (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Minister for Africa)

The UK has already worked on suspension and relief measures. Longer-term solutions will be considered in due course, but immediate focus is needed to address urgent needs first. The international development banks are committing $200 billion into developing countries over the next 15 months due to the crisis.

Answered
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