As a result, highly indebted governments were the next to hit the wall.

India has written off the debts of all the highly indebted poor countries.

The Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Ministerial Network is another South South cooperation effort.

Today, more than 80 per cent of African States were highly indebted poor countries.

Indeed, many highly indebted countries in Latin America conducted similar debt buybacks in the late 1980 s.

As a result, it has never been included in programmes such as HIPC for highly indebted countries.

Fifth, some argued that highly indebted sovereigns would push investors into gold as government bonds became more risky.

Many of these highly indebted governments have large stocks of gold, which they may decide to dump to reduce their debts.

European growth is constrained by debt problems and continued concerns about the solvency of Greece and other highly indebted EU members.

To reverse this trend, the international community must address debt sustainability in highly indebted and low income countries, particularly in Africa.

Noting with concern that some highly indebted, middle income developing countries are facing serious difficulties in meeting their external debt servicing obligations,

Fourthly, debt relief has been limited to those highly indebted poor countries which have satisfied International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions for disbursements.

Indeed, some highly indebted firms capital chains may well rupture in the next two years, when they reach their peak period for debt repayment.

More specifically, in highly indebted countries and least developed countries (LDCs), the conviction that reform is needed does not always translate into concrete action.

She welcomed recent G8 commitments to write off the multilateral debt of highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) and to double their ODA by 2010.

But a more specific similarity is that highly indebted eurozone countries and Chinese provinces and counties have been spending too much of a common currency.

Indeed, that supposed solution leaves half the eurozone relegated to the status of Third World countries that have become highly indebted in a foreign currency.

Noting with concern that some other highly indebted low and middle income developing countries are facing serious difficulties in meeting their external debt servicing obligations,

Invites the Bretton Woods institutions to consider the issue of debt sustainability and the implications of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative for Haiti

Borrowing costs are rising for highly indebted sovereigns, credit rationing is undermining small and medium size companies, and falling commodity prices are reducing exporting countries income.

Spain has also adopted measures on foreign debt that will enable our country to participate actively in multilateral debt cancellation initiatives for highly indebted poor countries.

Noting with concern that some highly indebted middle income developing countries are facing serious difficulties in meeting their external debt servicing obligations owing, inter alia, to liquidity constraints,

But, whereas we are likely to see a wave of defaults and IMF programs this time, too, fiscal meltdown does not have to hit every highly indebted country.

However, there are elements on which to build, such as progress in macroeconomic stability and economic governance and the possibility of a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative.

The Asian and other financial crises brought to the fore some new dimensions to the debt problems of developing countries, particularly for the middle income, highly indebted countries.

It may seem appalling to expect such a highly indebted country to continue to run deficits but the world is willing to finance the US at negative real interest rates.

Simply put, lending and economic growth have suffered since 2007 because highly indebted financial institutions could not absorb their losses, not because of regulations that sought to reduce their indebtedness.

There is a common sense consensus among borrowers in China, as well as in highly indebted advanced economies that raising interest rates would undermine GDP growth, employment, and asset prices.

The recent decision of the Group of 8 (G 8) to cancel the external debt of 18 highly indebted poor countries, including 13 least developed countries, is a welcome move.

While some of our countries have benefited from debt relief strategies including the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative that has not as yet resulted in debt sustainability in the region.

Furthermore, the higher oil prices were affecting the productivity and competitiveness of many oil importing countries and lowering the GDP of the highly indebted poor countries, especially in sub Saharan Africa.

We welcome the increase in debt relief, including debt cancellation, for many of the most highly indebted poor countries, as well as the renewed focus on Africa and on HIV AIDS.

We equally laud and welcome the initiative of the G 8 to cancel 100 per cent of the debt of the highly indebted poor countries, 14 of which are in Africa.

With too big to save countries like Spain in the clear, the debt of highly indebted peripheral countries like Greece could be written down through interest waivers, maturity extensions, and debt exchanges.

In return, the highly indebted countries must commit to multi year programs to restructure fiscal institutions and enhance competitiveness reforms that can be implemented and bear fruit only over the medium term.

Spain is also engaging with highly indebted middle income countries in projects to swap debt for public investment in key areas for sustainable human development, such as education, the environment and infrastructure.

Those who can borrow have ample cash and are cautious about spending, while those who want to borrow highly indebted households and firms (especially small and medium size enterprises) face a credit crunch.

In the case of Reinhart and Rogoff, the observation that highly indebted countries grow more slowly, even if true, does not tell us anything about whether high debt causes slow growth or vice versa.

Finally, I wish to reiterate that the Caribbean Community welcomes the recent announcement by the Group of Eight aimed at reducing the debt of some of the most highly indebted countries in the world.

Three Paths for Indebted Democracies

We are gratified at the decision taken in Gleneagles, Scotland, by the Group of Eight (G 8) to completely cancel the debt of 18 highly indebted poor countries, 13 of which are least developed countries.

On this auspicious occasion, my delegation expresses sincere appreciation for all initiatives recently taken to address the needs of developing countries, especially the debt cancellation extended by the G 8 countries to highly indebted poor countries.

In an earlier era, they became indebted to the pawnbroker now they are indebted to banks or credit card companies.

Moreover, the short run effect is lower in highly indebted countries, and can even be negative during economic expansions if households and firms, expecting higher taxes to pay for future spending, save, rather than spend, the cash.

Against this backdrop, India has consistently supported proposals in the United Nations to convert into grants all remaining official bilateral debt of the poorest African countries and has supported the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative.