Jagdeo in debt-relief talks

WASHINGTON DC, USA, November 15, 2006 - Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo, is scheduled to be in Washington on Friday for the Commission of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank meeting.

The purpose of the meeting is to enhance discussions on debt-relief for Heavily- Indebted Poor Countries from the IDB, which President Jagdeo has consistently advocated for during his tenure as President.

While in Washington, the President, according to a government statement, will continue to lobby for additional debt-write off for Guyana.

The meeting is a follow-up to a recently concluded meeting in Port au Prince Haiti attended by Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, which saw finance ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean’s HIPC countries discussing debt-relief from the IDB.

Earlier this year, under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s International Development Association (approved the write-off of debts owed by HIPC countries to those institutions. Debts owed by African HIPC countries to the African Development Fund were also written off.

The government of Guyana has since been strongly advocating for the extension of this initiative to include debts owed by Latin American and Caribbean HIPC countries to the IDB.

Since 1992 to the present, Guyana’s debt-burden has been reduced by more than US$1B. (Hardbeatnews.com)

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