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[DARIUS]

WASHINGTON, November 22, 2006. The World Bank, the International Development

Association (IDA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have determined

that the Republic of Haiti qualifies for debt relief under the enhanced Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative by reaching the decision point under

the Initiative. The Republic of Haiti becomes the 30th country to reach its

decision point under the Initiative.

The Government of the Republic of Haiti will receive interim debt relief from

certain creditors, but in order to qualify for irrevocable debt relief at the

completion point, Haiti will be implementing a broad set of reforms. In

particular, Haiti has launched and is expected to implement an economic program

supported by the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF), prepare

and implement a Poverty Reduction Strategy for at least one year, and implement

key structural and social reforms, including in the areas of economic

governance and debt management.

In addition to HIPC debt relief, the Republic of Haiti will be eligible for

Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) assistance when it reaches the HIPC

completion point. This will further increase the resources available to the

Government in order to reduce poverty.

Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF said: "Haiti has made

good progress in strengthening macroeconomic performance and introducing key

structural reforms. Together with the recent successful elections, the progress

achieved so far provides an opportunity for a reversal of the trends of the

past decades and sustained pro-poor growth. Haiti's external debt situation

will remain difficult even after HIPC debt relief, and strong economic

policies, prudent debt management, and continued donor support on highly

concessional terms will be needed to ensure a sustainable external debt in the

medium term."

Caroline Anstey, the World Bank Country Director for the Republic of Haiti,

said: "The objective of debt relief is to free up resources to reduce poverty.

The Haitian authorities have recently introduced important reforms in economic

governance. Sustaining and building on those improvements will be needed to

ensure that resources are used effectively, efficiently and transparently to

improve the delivery of education, health and basic services for poor people.

How donors can support Haiti in these areas will be central themes at the Haiti

Donor's Conference to be held in Madrid, Spain on November 30."

Specifics of the Debt Relief Operation

Haiti's public and publicly guaranteed external debt was estimated at US$1.3

billion in nominal terms as of end-September 2005, equivalent to US$932.9

million in net present value (NPV) terms.

Debt relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative will be approximately US$140.3

million in NPV terms, equivalent to a 15.1 percent reduction of its debt after

traditional debt relief mechanisms. Over time, this will reduce Haiti’s debt

service payments by about US$212.9 million.

IDA's share of enhanced HIPC assistance to Haiti amounts to US$52.8 million

in NPV terms, including US$33.1 million already provided through an arrears

clearance operation undertaken in early 2005. Immediately following the

approval of the decision point by the Boards of IDA and the IMF, IDA will begin

to provide the remaining assistance (US$19.7 million). The IMF will provide

assistance of US$3.1 million (equivalent to SDR 2.101 million) in NPV terms.

Under the enhanced HIPC Initiative's burden sharing approach, other creditors

of Haiti will provide the remainder of the Initiative's debt relief.

MDRI debt relief from IDA could amount to US$243.3 million in NPV terms or

approximately US$464.4 million over time, assuming that Haiti reaches its

completion point by end-September 2008. Haiti is not expected to have any

eligible IMF debt for MDRI relief.

Note to Editors:

Haiti is the poorest country in the Latin America and Caribbean region and

amongst the poorest in the world. About 54 percent of Haiti's population lives

below the US$1 a day poverty line and 78 percent below US$2 a day. After years

of political deadlock following the disputed parliamentary elections of the

year 2000 and a two-year period of political transition, presidential and

parliamentary elections were held in February and April 2006, respectively.

This provides an opportunity for Haiti to overcome the legacy of past decades.

The HIPC Initiative

In 1996, the World Bank and IMF launched the HIPC Initiative to create a

framework in which all creditors, including multilateral creditors, can provide

debt relief to the world's poorest and most heavily indebted countries, and

thereby reduce the constraints on economic growth and poverty reduction imposed

by the debt-service burdens in these countries. The Initiative was modified in

1999 to provide three key enhancements:

Deeper and Broader Relief. External debt thresholds were lowered from the

original framework. As a result, more countries have become eligible for debt

relief and some countries have become eligible for greater relief;

Faster Relief. A number of creditors began to provide interim debt relief

immediately at the “decision point. Also, the new framework permitted

countries to reach the "completion point" faster; and

Stronger Link Between Debt Relief and Poverty Reduction. Freed resources were

to be used to support poverty reduction strategies developed by national

governments through a broad consultative process.

To date, 30 HIPC countries have reached their decision points, of which 20 have

reached completion point.

[Al Saqr]

Ce n'était pas déjà le cas ?

[karizmua]

Apparently not!

[Al Saqr]

Ils ne seraient pas en train de faire & refaire la même chose chaque année ? Annoncer que notre dette va diminuer, puis ne pas la faire diminuer et faire encore cette annonce l'année prochaine ?!?