At the July 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, G8 leaders pledged to cancel the debt of the world's most indebted countries. A buildup of foreign debt, owed by many low-income countries throughout the 1970s and 1980s, left many nations with unsustainable debt burdens. A number of creditors, including the main multilaterals, joined the G8 decision to provide debt relief for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
Ever since, Multilateral Development Banks have met annually to discuss debt and related issues. The meeting has focused on progress in the implementation and financing of the HIPC Initiative, which was launched in 1996 to call on the voluntary provision of debt relief by all creditors. Other points covered have included country-specific HIPC cases, participation of creditors as well as debt sustainability in LICs in the context of the HIPC Debt Relief Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).
Invitees are mainly representatives from multilateral institutions from around the world. Bilateral creditors also participate.
