Guyana to benefit from German debt cancellation Guyana Chronicle April 23, 2000 GERMANY says it will cancel 100 per cent of the debts of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), including Guyana, from commercial claims eligible for rescheduling. A release from the Embassy in Port of Spain issued through Honorary Consul here, Mr Wilfred Fries, said the move will benefit all countries that would be eligible for the Cologne Debt Initiative on the basis of analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank but would not be afforded 100 per cent cancellation. Guyana is one of about 30 countries which could benefit from the envisaged measure with a remission of principal of up to DM700 million in the next few years. The measure has been approved by the Budget Committee of the German Parliament. In response to a German initiative, the Cologne Economic Summit had already agreed on debt cancellation up to 90 per cent and more in individual cases if needed to achieve debt sustainability, in particular for the very poorest among these countries, the embassy said. It said the decision now taken by the German Government exceeds the conditions of the enlarged debt agreed in June in Cologne. In conjunction with the full cancellation of claims from financial cooperation agreed at that time, it will fulfil an essential requirement for the financial stabilisation and economic development of the countries concerned, it said.