Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the joint statement by African faith leaders on 8 August 2023 on reducing debt in African countries.

The UK Government notes the statement by African Faith Leaders. We are working to ensure swift progress and effective implementation of debt treatments and are working to deliver a long-term, sustainable approach to dealing with debt restructurings through the Common Framework. The UK is leading improvements to the global debt architecture and is supporting efforts to find coordinated solutions on debt including through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable. During the pandemic, the UK supported the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and contributed £150 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to provide debt relief.