Definition: Paris Club

External debt - IMF

An informal group of creditor governments that has met regularly in Paris since 1956 to reschedule bilateral debts; the French treasury provides the secretariat. Creditors meet with a debtor country to reschedule its debts as part of the international support provided to a country that is experiencing debt-servicing difficulties and is pursuing an adjustment program supported by the IMF. The Paris Club does not have a fixed membership, and its meetings are open to all official creditors that accept its practices and procedures. The core creditors are mainly OECD member countries, but other creditors attend as relevant for a debtor country. Russia became a member in September 1997.