, at a time where external debt was significantly reduced, notably through advanced repayments of nearly all public external debt ( which amounted to us $ billion 13. 9 by end 2003 ). domestic public debt has also been significantly reduced to a level representing 6. 6 % of gdp in 2008, down from 18. 7 % of gdp in 2003. in addition, available resources in the stabilization fund amounted to us $ billion 59 by end 2008, representing a sizeable self - financing capacity which allows continued implementation of the investment program ( 2009 – 10 ) in the context of external shocks. while sonatrach ’ s investments were partly – although to a large extent – financed on the company ’ s own resources over the period 2001 – 04, accumulated savings ( reaching us $ billion 18 by end 2008 ) have since allowed for total self - financing of the oil company ’ s investments, with investments in 2009 upstream and downstream significantly increasing, in view of the important opportunities in the sector and in line with the objective of achieving potential capacity. investment in the remaining sectors of the economy have also been, to a large extent, selffinanced ( 44. 2 % during the period 2004 – 08 ) while financial savings of private enterprises and households increased. the share of bank financing, mainly domestic, represented 50. 5 % while bond issuance covered 5. 3 % of financing needs. domestic medium and long term bank loans, which have been substantially increasing over the past 5 years, have been oriented to investments in productive non - oil sectors, notably energy and water sectors where investments have significantly increased. anchored to relatively stable and sustainable resources, the development of credit allocation has been notable, with credit to the economy increasing by 15. 7 % in 2007 and 18. 6 % in 2008. growth in the credit to the economy in 2009 remained strong ( 19. 4 %, twelve months increase by june 2009 ) at a time where many emerging economies faced bank credit contractions. credit to private enterprises and households represents a large share of total allocated credit ( 54 to 55 % over the past 3 years ). medium and long term ( investment ) credit increased by 20. 9 % in 2008 and 12. 9 % in the first half of 2009, reflecting favorable domestic bank financing conditions. in this favorable financing context, additional measures have been introduced in the supplementary budget law of july 2009, aimed at further promoting credit to small and medium size enterprises ( smes ), including increasing the maximum government guaranteed credit amount. in

countries. the crisis has severely impacted all countries of our constituency. our authorities reacted swiftly to the crisis and implemented measures to alleviate its impact on lives and livelihoods, with some of our members benefitting from fund emergency and / or upper credit tranche ( uct ) facilities. the economic recovery is gradually taking shape in our constituency, but at varying pace and degrees. the rebound of international oil prices provided welcome relief to oil exporters in our constituency, but financing pressures continue to persist, and economic diversification challenges remain. the oil importing countries in our constituency continue to face large fiscal and external imbalances and soaring public debt, although an upside surprise in remittance inflows has provided some relief. the recovery of the lics, most already beset by fragilities, is further constrained by the lack of fiscal space, elevated debt levels, declining aid and limited access to financing. while welcoming the ongoing international efforts to assist the lics, including through debt service relief from the imf and the world bank and the g20 - led dssi, we strongly believe that a broader international participation, including by private creditors, is critical given the lic ’ s debt vulnerabilities and the uncertainties that threaten their medium - term economic viability. the fragile states and countries afflicted by conflict and those hosting refugees in the menap + region deserve close attention and timely and commensurate response by the international community. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches the imf ’ s nimble and proportional response to the crisis, including through an expansion of its toolkit and higher access limits, provided a critical lifeline for members facing large financing needs. the crisis is still evolving and there is still need for emergency support. the requests of some 40 members are still pending, including that of a major country in our constituency. in this regard, we would like to reiterate our call on the fund to ensure that its financial support, policy advice, and capacity development are available to all members in an evenhanded manner without exception. we support the imf in scaling - up its work on the macro - critical implications of climate change, digitalization, poverty alleviation, youth employment, and inclusiveness in general. we look forward to the successful conclusion of a new general sdr allocation of us $ 650 billion and encourage the fund to work on options for voluntary reallocations of sdrs for the benefit of poorer members. we welcome