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<p>There has been a marked improvement in the debt position of many African countries
over the last 15 years as a result of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative
and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), both of which were established
following strong UK leadership. Many countries have borrowed prudently over recent
years and do not raise concerns about debt sustainability. But some countries’ debt
levels are rising at an unsustainable rate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I welcome the recent
change in the IMF’s debt limit policy to take account of all public external debt
in its setting of debt limits for countries which are at risk of unsustainable debt.
I also welcome the review of the way the IMF analyses debt sustainability for consideration
by the IMF Board early next year. In addition to this, recent discussions at the Paris
Forum, G20 and at the third Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) in Addis
Ababa are important in recognising the vital role of both lenders and borrowers acting
responsibly to promote debt sustainability.</p>
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