Bilateral Debt Relief Agreement in favour of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bern, 24.11.2003 - On 21 November 2003, Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a bilateral agreement on debt relief amounting to CHF 31.2 million. The agreement was signed in Kinshasa by the Swiss Ambassador, Mr. Jean-Pierre Villard, and the Congolese Finance Minister, André-Philippe Futa.
Through the agreement, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be released from its entire external debt to Switzerland. The debt is being written off in the framework of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund HIPC initiative (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) which is aimed at reducing the external debt of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries to a tolerable level and thereby making a contribution to poverty reduction.
As a pacesetter in the field of debt relief, Switzerland accords the HIPC initiative a central role in the fight against poverty and towards promoting increased growth. A debt relief programme amounting to CHF 500 million was set up back in 1991 as a sign of solidarity with the poorest and most indebted countries to mark the 700th anniversary of Switzerland’s existence. Since then, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has largely implemented the programme in conjunction with other federal agencies and the coalition of Swiss relief organisations through measures to write-off debt (such as here in the case of Congo), reduce debt servicing and improve debt management.
At international level, efforts have concentrated on the HIPC initiative since 1996 and it is under these auspices that the Swiss debt relief programme has been continued. The international community granted the Congo access to the HIPC initiative in July 2003 and consequently supports the country’s latest successful political and economic reforms. The planned cancellation of over 80 per cent of all of the country’s external debt in the framework of HIPC is, however, dependent on the further consolidation of the peace process and progress in the area of economic reforms and the implementation of the national programme to combat poverty.
Bern, 24 November 2003
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
Communication
Further details:
Christian Hofer
Information Officer Economic Development Cooperation
Tel. +41 (0)31 324 09 10
Siro Beltrametti
Bilateral Economic Relations
Tel. +41 (0)31 324 08 51
Publisher
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
http://www.seco.admin.ch
