Enhancing international cooperation towards a durable solution to the external debt problem of developing countries

Stresses the importance for developing countries of continuing their efforts to promote a favourable environment for attracting foreign investment, thereby promoting economic growth and sustainable development so as to favour their exit from debt and debt-servicing problems, and also stresses the need for international community to promote a conducive external economic environment through, inter alia, improved market access, stabilization of exchange rates, effective stewardship of international interest rates, increased resource flows, access to international financial markets, the flow of financial resources and improved access to technology for the developing countries; also stresses that the evolving debt strategy must be accompanied by a favourable and supportive international economic environment, including the full implementation of the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, and the Marrakesh ministerial decisions in favour of the least developed countries and the net food-importing developing countries; further stresses the need for existing facilities to provide debt-relief measures through various debt conversion programmes; underlines the importance of the transparency and involvement of debtor countries in any review and analysis that is conducted during the adjustment period; stresses the urgent need to continue to provide social safety nets to vulnerable groups most adversely affected by the implementation of economic reform programmes in debtor countries, in particular low-income groups; reaffirms the Mid-term Global Review of Progress towards the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, in particular the appropriate actions in favour of those countries concerning their official bilateral commercial and multilateral debt; stresses the need for new financial flows to debtor developing countries from all sources.

Adopted without vote, 77th meeting

5 p.

Adopted at the 77th plenary meeting, 18 Dec. 1997.