Government of Norway : Historic cancellation of Myanmar’s debt to Norway

01/28/2013| 10:31am US/Eastern

Norway has decided to cancel the whole of Myanmar's debt to Norway. The total amount is NOK 3.2 billion.

Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås commented, "This is historic, not only for Myanmar, but also for Norway. This is the largest developing country debt that we have ever cancelled. I am proud that once again Norway is leading the way."

Norway announced the debt cancellation at a meeting of Myanmar's creditor countries at the Paris Club to negotiate how much of the total debt should be cancelled. The final hours of the meeting were dramatic as it became clear that a breakthrough in the negotiations was on the horizon.

"Norway played a key role. Our decision to cancel all the debt to Norway was significant for the negotiations. This was an important moment for the people of Myanmar," said Mr Holmås.

"This is important for people in Myanmar. We have decided to take this step at this time in order to support the positive development in the country. Not only are we cancelling more debt than all the other creditors; we are doing so without touching a krone of the aid budget and without reporting the debt cancellation as official development assistance," said Mr Holmås.