REPRESENTATIVES from Cameroon, Malawi, Niger and Guinea-Bissau will this week renegotiate their debt with the Paris Club group of creditor countries. All four African countries are on the list of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) identified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for special consideration in debt relief if they demonstrate commitment to financial reforms. In late December, the IMF approved a loan of $144m to Cameroon under the poverty reduction program over three years, with $21m released immediately. Guinea-Bissau has received about $790m of relief on its debt servicing from the IMF, while Malawi’s debt servicing has been slashed by one billion dollars, and Niger’s by $890m. – AFP