Meeting with private sector representatives

On June 9th, 2004, the Paris Club invited representatives of the private sector to meet in Paris for an exchange of views. Around twenty market representative 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 Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Chairman of the Paris Club.

It was the 4th 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. General issues related to sovereign debt restructurings, notably the Evian Approach, were also discussed.

After a general presentation of the recent activity, the second part of the meeting was devoted to countries that have already concluded an agreement with the Paris Club. A specific presentation was dedicated to the most significant deals concluded in 2004 with Kenya and the Dominican Republic. Paris Club creditors explained their agreements and what they were expecting from private creditors in terms of comparability of treatment. The participants also had an exchange of views on the situation of the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro and the ongoing negotiations in the London Club.

The third part of the meeting aimed at addressing the perspectives of activity for the upcoming months. Paris Club creditors presented their views on the treatment of Argentina's debt under the Evian Approach while private creditors reported on the status of their relations with Argentina. This debate enabled both parties to better understand the positions of the different stakeholders involved in the process. In addition to these consultations on Argentina in advance of possible negotiations, the discussions gave the opportunity to address the cases of Iraq and Angola. Paris Club creditors described their ongoing work and took note of the market perception expressed by private creditors.

All participants noted their satisfaction on the fruitful exchange of information and views during this meeting and agreed that annual discussions should continue in the future.

Presentations made during this meeting can be consulted by clicking on the following link.