Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact on Sudan of Sudanese national debt; and what steps he is taking to provide debt relief to that country.

Sudan reached a historic milestone in June 2021 by meeting the necessary conditions to begin receiving debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Completion of this process would allow Sudan to regain debt sustainability.

As part of this process, the international community, led by the UK as G7 Presidency, provided funding to clear Sudan’s long-standing debt arrears to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, totalling USD$ 2.9 billion.

Under the HIPC initiative, the Paris Club, of which the UK is a member, reached an agreement with Sudan in July 2021 to restructure its public external debt. Paris Club members agreed to cancel USD$14 billion of historic debt, while indicating readiness to cancel the remaining USD$9 billion after successful completion of an IMF Programme for a further three years.

The military coup of 25 October 2021 has however put debt relief for Sudan at risk. We note with strong concern political developments since the coup, which have derailed the transition and threaten the ongoing implementation of Sudan’s IMF programme, which is one of the pre-conditions for debt relief from the Paris Club.

In this context, before moving forward with the implementation of the agreement signed with Sudan in July 2021, the Paris Club will carefully monitor the evolution of the situation, in close coordination with the IMF and the World Bank Group. The UK is supporting and encouraging all parties to engage with the UN-facilitated political process to put the transition back on track.