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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 52 - Thursday December 18, 2003 |
Dominica's Prime Minister Meets with International Lending Organizations to Discuss Restructuring Debt
 AP News Wires
The prime minister met Wednesday with international lending organizations in Barbados to discuss restructuring Dominica's debt, officials said.
Prime Minister Pierre Charles planned to propose lower annual repayments of the Caribbean island's loans at the meeting, government spokesman Sean Douglas said.
Attending were representatives of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the European Union and the Caribbean Development Bank, officials said.
Dominica hoped to conclude its debt restructuring agreements by April, Douglas said. Details of the meeting were not available.
Dominica's government has been struggling to close its EC$59.8 million (US$22.5 million) budget deficit, pay off a EC$779 million (US$287.4 million) national debt and boost economic growth, which has been in decline since 2000.
Dominica's economic growth averaged 2 percent in the 1990s, but fell by more than 4 percent in 2002, the finance ministry reported. Finance officials expected to register another decline in 2003.
Charles cut short a three-week leave of absence caused by heart problems to attend the meeting in Barbados, Douglas said. In late November, his cardiologist told him to rest from several angioplasty surgeries he had during the year.
The former British colony, with a population of 70,000 residents, is one of the poorest countries in the region.
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