Introduction

The World Bank is organizing a conference on debt relief and sustainability that will take place in Washington, DC, on October 30-31, 2008, following the World Bank’s Sovereign Debt Management Forum (October 27-29). The target audience for the event is policy-makers and debt managers from developing countries (particularly, HIPCs), although the development community at large (e.g., donors, researchers, representatives of civil society and international organizations) and the private sector will also be invited to participate.

This conference is being made possible by a generous contribution of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Motivation

After 12 years of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the implementation of the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) for low-income countries (LICs), it is a good moment to reflecting on lessons learnt and challenges ahead with respect to debt sustainability in LICs. During the past years, considerable progress has been made in reducing the debt level in HIPCs and providing grants to indebted low-income countries, potentially freeing up resources for poverty reduction and growth. Substantial improvements have also been made in assessing debt sustainability, strengthening debt management and establishing mechanisms to reduce the probability of future debt crises in LICs, drawing from experiences in middle income countries. However, important challenges remain for LICs, such as providing HIPC debt relief to the most fragile states and ensuring responsible lending. It is therefore important not only to draw lessons from the past, but also to give thought to future challenges.

Objectives

1. To provide a forum for the dissemination and discussion of policy-relevant research on debt relief and debt sustainability (with a focus on LICs).
2. To discuss new challenges being faced by LICs and debate LIC-relevant lessons learned from foreign debt crises both in low-income and middle-income countries.
3. To discuss how best to develop a platform for future cooperation and knowledge exchanges among participants to be supported by the upcoming Debt Management Facility initiative.

Updates

1. Agenda was updated on October 21, 2008.
2. Summary Reports of Background Papers were posted on October 23, 2008.
3. Background Reports was updated on October 29, 2008.
4. Logistics Page was added October 27, 2008.
5. Online registration has been closed (October 28, 2008).
6. B-Span link of the event added (January 7, 2009).