UNCTAD
June 18, 2005

Two weeks before the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Scotland this July, a conference focusing on the management of debt burdens, the long-term sustainability of external debt and the extent to which debt relief does or does not address development prospects in African countries will be held in Geneva from June 20 to June 24. Organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Fifth Interregional Conference on Debt Management will include the following topics on its agenda: relations between debtors and creditors; practical ways to contain risk and reduce uncertainty; information and transparency; relations between debt managers and policymakers; recent experiences in setting up national debt offices; the changing role of
the debt manager; and debt crisis management. Included among the country “cases” to be reviewed are: Argentina, Iraq, Nigeria, Mexico and Panama. Ninety countries in total will be represented. Speakers and moderators will include Iraq’s Central Bank Governor, the heads of the Argentinean and Nigerian Debt Offices, the head of Mexico’s Investor
Relations (for the Ministry of Finance), the head of the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), the Paris Club Secretary-General, Jubilee Peru, Transparency International, as well as senior staff from the IMF and the World Bank dealing with debt issues.

For more information, please refer to the UNCTAD press release posted at:
http://i-newswire.com/pr25898.html [PDFver here]