Low-income countries (LICs) face significant challenges in meeting their development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while at the same time ensuring that their external debt remains sustainable.In April 2005, the Executive Boards of the Fund and the Bank endorsed a joint framework for debt sustainability assessments (DSAs) in low-income countries. The debt sustainability framework (DSF) for LICs was reviewed by the Boards in April 2006, as well as the implications of the multilateral debt relief initiative (MDRI). In November 2006, the Boards discussed further the challenges arising from the perceived increase in borrowing space created by debt relief in some LICs, the emergence of new creditors, and the rising weight of domestic debt. While welcome, these developments also raise new risks. In light of this, the Boards called for improving the rigor and quality of debt sustainability analyses (DSAs) and increasing their effectiveness by fostering their use by borrowers and creditors [...]