Daniel Inouye: “today, I rise to speak on an innovative and creative proposal submitted by the Republic of the Philippines that would…”

“today, I rise to speak on an innovative and creative proposal submitted by the Republic of the Philippines that would provide debt relief to the 100 most heavily indebted nations. This proposal was presented to the Boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on September 20, 2005, by the Honorable Jose De Venecia, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congress of the Republic of the Philippines. The proposal has received a positive reception by financial and political authorities in Western Europe and will be considered by the Paris Club at its next meeting. The proposal, known as the Debt-for-Millennium Development Goals-- MDG--Investments program, would allow creditor countries to convert up to 50 percent of the debt-service payments from debtor countries into equities or other forms of investment capital. Such equities would subsequently be use to finance MDG initiatives, including, but not limited to, reforestation, energy, mass housing, irrigation, food production, and postharvest facilities, ecotourism projects, safe water systems, hospitals, infrastructure, and microfinancing. The Debt-for-MDG Investments proposal is voluntary and would augment the agreements made by G8 countries to depreciate multilateral debt owed by heavily indebted countries. Creditor countries will have a say in which projects they support in a specific debtor country.…”