A: I am very optimistic that the number of LDCs will be reduced. Already
today there is a large spectrum of economic and social indicators among the 49 LDCs. I am of the view that some countries - I prefer not to mention any figure - will be very successful and in a position to leave the group of LDCs.

Q: What in your view will distinguish LDC-III from the previous two
conferences, when it ends Sunday and we look back at it?

A: The difference between this conference and the previous two gatherings lies in the fact that before LDC-III, the EU had already taken two concrete decisions that would never have been taken, if there would have been no conference. The two significant decisions are: (1) to untie financial cooperation for the LDCs and (2) EU's Everything But Arms Initiative. These two initiatives would have been impossible without LDC-III.

Q: What have Germany and Europe done as regards the debts of the LDCs ahead of this conference?

A: Indeed. We have tried hard months before the conference to move also on the question of debts. In this context, the debt relief initiative of the Cologne Summit in 1999 has been of key significance for the perspectives of LDCs and their people. Decisions on easing the burden have been taken on a total of 22 countries. Seventeen LDCs are already profiting from this exercise. They will be given a nominal debt service relief of some 23 billion US dollars. The HIPC initiative will free funds equivalent to 1.2 percent of the LDCs' Gross Domestic Product on an average. This in turn would enable the LDCs to spend more on health and education.

Q: What is Germany's share in the HIPC initiative?

A: Germany participates in the HIPC initiative on the whole with bilateral
debt write-offs totalling 5 billion dollars. The German government also pays 75 million dollars directly into the HIPC Trust Fund established with the World Bank. The German government's share in the EU contribution of 1 billion dollars amounts to about one-quarter of the sum. The German Federal Reserve Bank provides the IMF an interest-free loan of 300 million dollars with a maturity of 10 years to finance the IMF share in the enlarged HIPC initiative. Estimates say that more than 50 percent of the funds benefit the LDCs.

On the bilateral plane, the German government has strengthened its bilateral cooperation with the LDCs. Whereas in the year 2000 the share of LDCs in bilateral development cooperation amounted to 24.6 percent, it has risen to almost 30 percent in 2001. The cooperation focuses on combating HIV/AIDS, promoting family planning measures in general, renewable energies, and education.