News Brief: World Bank, IMF, and IDB to Assist Honduras and Nicaragua on Their External Debt Problem

November 16, 1998

World Bank, IMF, and IDB to Assist Honduras and Nicaragua on Their External Debt Problem

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) have agreed to undertake with the governments of Honduras and Nicaragua a comprehensive assessment of their external debt situation and related requirements for debt relief. This assessment would be undertaken as soon as conditions permit. A document summarizing the results of this assessment in the context of the debt initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) would be presented for consideration by the Boards of the institutions as soon as possible.

In the meantime, the institutions are working to ensure that the external debt-service payments of Honduras and Nicaragua will not impede the reconstruction and recovery efforts from Hurricane Mitch. They welcomed the announcement by several countries to provide immediate debt relief to these countries.

The World Bank is also working with the IMF and the IDB to establish a trust fund that will channel donor resources to help these countries cover multilateral debt service obligations. This fund will be operational in early December and has already received generous indications of support from bilateral donors, including Norway and the United Kingdom.



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