Light bars represent debt cancellation or rescheduling.

Africa needs debt cancellation, as no growth can take place with a heavy debt burden.

Secondly, debt cancellation and reduction should be extended and intensified.

Debt cancellation should not be tied to official development assistance.

Several participants expressed the need for unconditional cancellation of debt.

Options for lower debt burdens on Governments of heavily indebted developing countries include debt cancellation and debt swaps for sustainable development.

He said that his country did not benefit from debt cancellation measures.

Debt relief, debt swaps or debt cancellation could offer important means for mobilizing resources for accelerating progress towards the water and sanitation goals.

C. The Group of Eight proposals for debt cancellation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

The quickest means of doing so is substantial and generous debt cancellation and relief.

Debt cancellation would enable us to devote all of our financial resources to development.

Noted the request of Iraq for the cancellation or reduction of their sovereign debt.

Secondly, we welcome the handling of the debt issue through the outright cancellation of the debt of 18 of the poorest countries.

In absolute terms, Russia is among the leaders in debt cancellation for the poorest countries.

For most HIPC countries, this would require exclusively grant based finance and 100 per cent debt cancellation.

Progress also needed to be made on extending external debt cancellation to low and middle income countries.

I wish to recognize the statesmanship displayed by members of the Paris Club, which recently granted African countries, among others, debt cancellation and debt relief.

Spain has also adopted measures on foreign debt that will enable our country to participate actively in multilateral debt cancellation initiatives for highly indebted poor countries.

We are heartened and add our encouragement to those governments supporting total debt cancellation for the poorest nations.

This year, the Group of Eight countries have pledged increased aid and debt cancellation for low income countries.

Concessions that the developed countries could make to Africa included meeting their official development assistance (ODA) commitments, debt cancellation and the conversion of debt into equity investments.

Promote a comprehensive and durable solution to the external debt problems of African countries, including through the cancellation of 100 per cent of multilateral debt consistent with the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and significant reduction or cancellation of the debt of heavily indebted low and middle income developing countries that are not part of the Initiative

In fact, total official development assistance to all recipient countries, net of debt cancellation, actually declined by 2 between 2005 and 2006. Even the World Bank, which usually takes the donors point of view, recently acknowledged that except for debt cancellation, promises of scaled up aid have not been delivered.

We urge G8 nations and international financial institutions to implement a fair and democratic debt cancellation process as quickly as possible.

Nonetheless, these measures are incomplete, particularly measures concerning the cancellation of the multilateral debt of 18 countries, including 14 African countries.

21. Stresses that debt relief should contribute to development objectives, including poverty reduction, and in this regard urges countries to direct those resources freed through debt relief, in particular through debt cancellation and reduction, towards these objectives

This is one of a number of options for relieving external debt burdens in poor countries, including debt cancellation, in order to free resources for investments in essential infrastructure and services.

We welcome the increase in debt relief, including debt cancellation, for many of the most highly indebted poor countries, as well as the renewed focus on Africa and on HIV AIDS.

(e) To reduce the unsustainable debt burden of developing countries through such actions as debt relief and, as appropriate, debt cancellation and other innovative mechanisms geared to comprehensively addressing the debt problems of developing countries, in particular the poorest and most heavily indebted ones

The money from the debt cancellation would serve in social sectors like education, health, public works, and HIV AIDS prevention and control.

For the first year after the Gleneagles meeting, aid numbers were padded by misleading accounting on debt cancellation operations. With those debt cancellation operations largely completed, the data are now revealing the stark truth development aid to Africa and to poor countries more generally is stagnant, contrary to all the promises that were made.

I would like to speak about additional resources beyond the contribution of debt cancellation pledged by the Group of Eight, which we welcome.

The PRSP was currently in its final phase, intended to enable the country to benefit fully from the cancellation of its external debt.

We welcome the cancellation of the debt of the most heavily indebted poor countries, but we believe that a long term solution of the debt problem of developing countries should not obstruct investment.

Accordingly, the Panel recommends a 100 per cent debt cancellation for all low income countries, including those not eligible for debt relief under the HIPC initiative, and significant relief for middle income countries.

Promote a comprehensive and durable solution to the external debt problems of African countries, including through the cancellation of 100 per cent of multilateral debt, consistent with the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative

While the G 8 initiative for 100 per cent cancellation of the multilateral debt is welcome, there are many questions relating to its modalities.

Participants were also concerned about the issue of conditionality attached to debt cancellation and the impact this would have on the quality of aid.

We welcome the G 8 proposal for irrevocable debt cancellation for the HIPC countries, a proposal that has generated high expectations in eligible countries.

In the case of Tajikistan, it would be effective to include an innovative mechanism for solving the debt problem, such as, for example, the offering of credits under the Debt Cancellation for Sustainable Development formula.

We believe that the international community is capable of finding a formula to bring about debt cancellation without jeopardizing the stability of international financial institutions.

We welcome the declaration by the Group of Eight favouring debt cancellation, time bound commitments for enhanced ODA and the efforts for additional innovative financing.

However, we appeal for debt cancellation for all least developed countries in order to enable them to redirect their meagre resources to national development programmes.

In response to calls for debt cancellation, China and India have forgiven significant amounts ( 1.2 billion and 500 million, respectively) owed by other developing countries.

The measures outlined in the areas of financing for development, debt cancellation, trade promotion, investment and other specific areas of development need to be fully implemented.