To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much debt was owed to her Department by each individual debtor country at 31 December 1998. [82006]

The debts outstanding to the Department for International Development as of 31 December 1998 are as follows:

£000
Country	Principal	Interest	Total
Antigua and Barbuda	1,687	—	1,687
Belize	11,928	—	11,928
Brazil	1,692	382	2,074
Cameroon	67	—	67
Cayman Islands	188	—	188
Colombia	170	—	170
Costa Rica	766	93	859
Cyprus	131	—	131
Ecuador	7,783	3,935	11,718
India	5,806	—	5,806
Jamaica	29,133	10,576	39,709
Liberia	77	1	78
Malaysia	2,903	282	3,185
Nigeria	4,907	24	4,931
Paraguary	1,874	—	1,874
Phillipines	2,702	145	2,847
Seychelles	7,886	824	8,710
St. Kitts	2,303	—	2,303
St. Vincent	3,421	—	3,421
Swaziland	1,538	—	1,538
Turkey	24,016	4,771	28,787
Zimbabwe	11,334	557	11,891
Total	122,312	21,590	143,902

Our Department has cancelled the debts of over 30 countries, worth over £1.2 billion since 1978. In September 1997, we launched the Commonwealth Debt Initiative, announcing that we were willing to cancel the remaining aid debt due to the UK from lower income Commonwealth countries to those countries which are committed to the International Development Goals and are following sound economic policies which benefit the poor, and which promote responsive and accountable government, encourage transparency and bear down on corruption.