In the News
An unusual take on Debt Forgiveness
19th December 2016
Back in the Cold War era, both Cuba and what was Czechoslovakia were part of the Soviet communist bloc. With no access to what were termed the 'western currencies' - dollars, sterling and so on - they borrowed from each other, which is why Cuba now owes the Czech authorities $276m (£222m). In spite of their new openness, they are struggling to find the cash to make the payment, and have offered instead to pay it in a resource that is not so scarce - rum.
This would provide the Czech finance ministry with enough rum to last a century - which may not be the most useful of reserves. They say that they would prefer to have at least some of it paid in cash! Cuba has offered another alternative of pharmaceutical drugs, but unfortunately the Cuban medicines don't have an EU certificate so those won't fit the bill either.
You might also like

Sri Lanka caught in dance between rival geopolitical powers
13th January 2023

Are hedge funds holding up vital debt relief for Sri Lanka
10th January 2023

Rising inflation hits living standards for India's middle class
15th December 2022

Debt Relief - Lenders urged to cancel Zambia debt
16th September 2022

Globalisation - Apple shifts more manufacturing toward Vietnam
24th August 2022