Debt cancellation of US $4,640 million

An informal group of creditors known as the "Paris Club" has agreed to the immediate cancellation of about US $4,640 million of the Democratic Republic of Congo's external debt. A statement issued by the Club said that creditors had, however, stressed the importance of the continued satisfactory implementation of the DRC's economic programme and its poverty reduction strategy. The government of the DRC, led by Joseph Kabila, had committed itself to seeking comparable treatment from its other creditors, the statement added. The 19 permanent members of the Paris Club are Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It describes itself as "an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations".