[…] The Guidelines cover both domestic and external public debt and encompass a broad range of financial claims on the government. They seek to identify areas in which there is broad agreement on what generally constitutes sound practices in public debt management. The Guidelines focus on principles applicable to a wide range of countries at different stages of development and with various institutional structures of national debt management. They should not be viewed as a set of binding practices or a rigid prescription, nor suggest that a unique set of sound practices exists, which would apply in all countries in all situations [abstract from treasury.worldbank.org].