Vol. 420 No. 3
142 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline any specific plans he has to initiate reforms which would facilitate the writing off of Third World debt; and if he will provide a timetable for the implementation of these reforms.
I am aware of the problems arising from the heavy burden of debt carried by many Third World countries. This is a major issue for the world community and it needs to be tackled at global level.
The role which the Government can play is to support the efforts being made by the international financial institutions to resolve the problem and we are doing this, in so far as we can, through our membership of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Within the European Community, we have also given our support to measures under STABEX, the Community fund set up under the Lomé Conventions, which involve the forgiveness of debts of the ACP countries who have signed the Convention.
