The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund had called for the suspension of loan repayments owed by the poorest countries of the world, to help them manage the severe impact of the pandemic. In response, G20 members agreed to suspend debt servicing temporarily for 77 eligible countries, including 30 from the Commonwealth.

To help these countries take advantage of the moratorium, the Commonwealth Secretariat has issued guidelines on how to use its state-of-the-art debt management system, not only to maximize the benefits of the debt relief, but also generate manageable payment schedules. 

Adviser and Head of the Secretariat’s Debt Management Unit, Pamella McLaren explained: “Commonwealth Meridian is a web-based tool that is already being used by a number of member countries to proactively manage their debt. 

“The new guidelines will make it easier for eligible countries to navigate the debt relief instruments being offered by the G20 and multilateral bodies in response to COVID-19, understand the different options for restructuring debt, and apply debt relief measures in a way that ensures long-term debt sustainability.”

Launched last year, Commonwealth Meridian is currently in use by central banks and government agencies across the Commonwealth to monitor transactions and conduct in-depth debt analysis for informed decisions.

The Secretariat’s new guidelines show how to use Commonwealth Meridian (or its predecessor software CS-DRMS) to identify the ‘ideal’ debt relief instruments available for a particular country, and whether to apply for those. It also demonstrates how to use Commonwealth Meridian to record, manage and report all actions taken to reorganise a country’s debt, in a way that supports long-term debt sustainability. 

The guidelines are available to download here.

To find out more about our Debt Programme and the Commonwealth Meridian system, please visit https://thecommonwealth.org/public-debt-management-programme