Why countries fall into debt traps - and how they can avoid doing so -- will be the focus of UNCTAD´s Sixth Interregional Conference on Debt Management, to be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 19-21 November. The biennial meeting will review topical and sometimes contentious issues such as who has the ultimate responsibility for poor lending and borrowing decisions and the lack of arbitration mechanisms for resolving debt disputes. It also will look at the problem of the debt sustainability of the poorest countries, including what has been achieved by recent relief measures and what remains to be done.
Officials in debt management and public finance from more than 60 developing countries are expected to participate, along with the Secretary-General of the Paris Club -- the group of 19 wealthy nations that has negotiated a series of debt-relief packages -- central bank governors, Government ministers, and experts from international financial institutions. Featured speakers include the Vice-Minister of Finance of Georgia; the Auditor General of Mexico; and senior Government officials from Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Georgia, Morocco, and Uganda. Also attending will be representatives of the private sector, academia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
All meetings will be held in plenary and will be open to the press, and interviews with speakers may be arranged through the UNCTAD Press Office.
Topics to be discussed include providing meaningful and effective debt aid; the conditions, or rules, applied to such aid; multilateral "soft" lending; orderly debt settlements; and new lenders and their effect on financial markets.
The conference agenda, list of participants and other relevant materials will be made available in the press room at the Palais des Nations. Information is also available on the homepage of the UNCTAD website at http://www.unctad.org
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