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Mauritania is to benefit from debt relief of US $1.1 billion having reached completion point under the enhanced framework of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, a World Bank news release on Wednesday said.
An agreement reached by the World Bank's International Development Association and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), makes Mauritania the sixth country to reach this point, joining Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda, the release said.
Debt relief from all of Mauritania's creditors will amount to approximately US $1.1 billion over time (US $622 million in net present value [NPV] terms), the release said, adding that Mauritania's external debt would reduce by 50 percent which would provide a basis for long-term sustainability.
Resources made available by the HIPC relief were being allocated to fund key anti-poverty programs outlined in Mauritania's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the release added.
Multilateral creditors will provide relief of US $361 million while the World Bank will provide US $100 million. These amounts will be delivered through a 65 percent reduction in debt service on IDA credits. The IMF will provide US $47 million to be delivered through a 55 percent reduction in debt service from 2000 to 2007.
Mauritania negotiated a debt rescheduling agreement with the Paris Club on Cologne terms (a debt reduction of 90 percent) and a number of Paris Club creditors have indicated that they would provide debt relief beyond that required under the HIPC Initiative.
For details see:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,pagePK:34382~piPK:34439,00.html.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
