Paris Club's 50th anniversary and meeting with representatives of the private sector

On June 14, 2006, the Paris Club has organized an international policy forum in Paris, at the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. This Policy forum was held in the premises of the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry in Paris.

The policy forum was introduced by Mr. Xavier Musca, President of the Paris Club, who read a message of Mr. Thierry Breton, the French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry in Paris. Mr. Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel, pronounced the opening statement.

The first roundtable discussed the role of the Paris Club in the international financial architecture. The head of roundtable was Mr. Mario Draghi, governor of the Bank of Italy. The lead speaker was Mr. Jacques de Larosière, former managing director of the International monetary fund and former President of the Paris Club. The other discussants included representatives of creditor countries (Mr. Mark Carney, Mr. Sergeï Stortchak), international financial institutions (Mr. Enrique V. Iglesias and Mr. Jean Lemierre), and of the private sector (Mr. John Lipsky).

The second roundtable discussed the Paris Club's role in the restoration of debt sustainability. It was chaired by Mr. Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank. The lead speaker was Mr. Michel Camdessus, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund and former president of the Paris Club. The other discussants were representatives of the international financial institutions (Mr. Agustin Carstens and Mr. Vincenzo La Via), academics (Mr. Daniel Cohen), representatives of non-governmental organizations (Mr. Francesco Oddone) and of debtor countries (Ms Ngozi Okonjo Iweala).

Mr. Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank concluded the conference with a final statement.

This policy forum allowed participants (around 300) to exchange views on the role of the Paris Club both during its first fifty years and for the future. Both roundtables included floor discussions that allowed other participants to take part in the debate. The first roundtable particularly discussed the challenges of the relationship between private and public creditors of low-income countries. The second roundtable discussed the profound evolution of the international financial community since 1956 and its consequence on the Paris Club's role in the treatment of low-income countries' debt.

The policy forum was preceded in the morning by the annual meeting of the Paris Club and representatives of the private sector. Around thirty market participant representatives from the buy side, sell side, traders, advisors, bondholders, and the heads of delegations of the member countries of the Paris Club participated in the meeting chaired by Xavier Musca, Chairman of the Paris Club. It was the sixth meeting of this kind since 2001, in support of the efforts of Paris Club creditors to increase transparency in particular towards the private sector.

The agenda was focused on country cases and the situation of emerging debt markets. After a general presentation of the 2005-2006 Paris Club's activity, the first part of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by private sector representatives of the situation of emerging debt markets. The second part of the meeting was dedicated to country cases, Iraq and Argentina. These debates enabled both parties to better understand the positions of the different stakeholders involved in the process and to draw lessons from the bondholders debt restructuring. All participants noted their satisfaction on the fruitful exchange of information and views during this meeting, and agreed that this type of discussions was useful and that the meeting should go on being held in the future on a yearly basis.