Debt Optimization to Enhance Fiscal Space

Governments in the region are facing increasing debt and debt service burdens. Budgets are being squeezed in order to meet essential expenditure on social services as well as commitments to climate related spending.

Our approach

ESCWA equips policymakers in member States with the necessary tools to improve medium- to long-term debt optimization strategies so as to ensure public debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability and improve fiscal space and the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals. ESCWA supports more effective debt management practices by improving the technical capacity of member States, helping decision-makers to better understand debt statistics, debt instruments, risk analysis, meeting contingencies and enhancing debt sustainability in the medium- and long-term.

Our partners

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Our activities

ESCWA produces knowledge and tools on public debt sustainability, including substantive assessment tools for risk analysis and modelling debt sustainability conditions and an analysis of debt instruments and their association with credit ratings for Arab States. ESCWA also delivers support to guide member States through national and regional workshops, enhancing the capacity of policymakers and public officials.

This initiative is also related to several publications including:

• Addressing Public Debt Challenges to Effectively Pursue the Sustainable Development Goals: Regional Perspectives (2023)
• Enhancing social expenditure and fiscal sustainability: A structural macro modelling approach
• Debt Sustainability and Debt Management in the Arab Region
• Central Bank Finance and Debt Dynamics in Arab States 
• Chapter III.E Debt and debt sustainability of the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022
• Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2021
• Fiscal policy response to public debt in the Arab region (2020)
• Liquidity and Debt Solutions to Invest in the SDGs: The Time to Act is Now
• Public Debt and Debt Stabilizing Scenarios for Egypt 
• Public Debt and Debt Stabilizing Scenarios for Jordan 
• Fiscal policy response to public debt in the Arab region (2017)