Version française - Versión española
In the context of the growing concerns about the overall outlook of debt sustainability in developing countries, aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis, France is committed at the multilateral level to supporting public debt management in developing countries.
The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and UNCTAD have just signed a funding agreement for the Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) Programme. Hence, France joins the current group of multilateral donors to the DMFAS Programme composed of Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the European Union.
Effective debt management is an intrinsically important component of good public financial management, overall good governance and poverty reduction. The availability of comprehensive, accurate timely information on public debt is crucial for policy decisions to effectively manage public liabilities, identify the risks of debt crises and limit their impact.
Mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, the DMFAS Programme is designed to contribute to objective 17.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Its main objective is to strengthen governments’ capacity to manage their debt effectively and sustainably in support poverty reduction, development, transparency and good governance. With 40 years of experience, the Programme is recognized as a leading provider of technical cooperation in debt management and has successfully supported over 70 governments.
The DMFAS Programme offers developing countries a set of proven solutions for improving their capacity to handle the day-to-day management of public liabilities and produce reliable debt data for policy-making purpose. DMFAS products and services focus on debt data recording, monitoring and reporting and complement the assistance provided by other organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or regional bodies.
France and UNCTAD are confident that this new partnership will enable them to meet their respective objectives to support developing countries in improving public debt management. The DMFAS Programme sincerely thanks France for its support
FRANCE'S SUPPORT IN THE AREA OF PUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
"In response to the increasing vulnerabilities associated with public debt in developing countries, France, at the political level, has actively promoted the adoption of two multilateral initiatives on debt by the G20 and by the Paris Club in favor of more than 70 low-income countries, namely the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and the G20 Common Framework on Debt Treatment beyond the DSSI, adopted in November 2020.
At the operational level, France also supports programs to prevent the risk of debt distress, including with the IMF and the World Bank. France is particularly proud to count UNCTAD and its DMFAS Programme among its partners. Transparent and effective management of public debt in developing countries has always been a particular focus of French cooperation policy, as evidenced by French support for the World Bank's Debt Management Facility (DMF) since 2020. These two programs, covering downstream (DMFAS) and upstream (DMF) debt management, are particularly complementary and will help to effectively manage the risks of debt distress in developing countries.
France's support to UNCTAD's DMFAS Programme is therefore a valuable complement to France's presence in this key area of debt management support for developing countries."
Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France
Link to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France