STUDY ECONOMY AND FINANCE 20 YEARS AFTER THE COLOGNE DEBT INITIATIVE What Became of the HIPC Countries? Jürgen Kaiser September 2019 The HIPC/MDRI Initiative, most of which was implemented between 1996 and 2005, sig­nificantly reduced the unsus­tainable debt burden of the participating countries. In cer­tain cases it contributed to a successful new start after a »lost development decade«. Debt relief allowed most of the participating countries to gain or regain access to the capital markets. Subsequent new borrowing has already led to new debt crises in a number of countries. One-off debt relief cannot re­liably exclude the possibility of new debt distress. An institu­tionalised debt restructuring mechanism will be indispensa­ble for coping with future debt crises.