For many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the burden of public debt has become unsustainable. In 2023, LMICs’ external debt reached an all-time high of 8.8 trillion dollars.1 The issue lies not only in the sheer volume of debt, but in the soaring cost of servicing it. In 2023, LMICs paid a record 1.4 trillion dollars in total debt service, of which 225 billion in interest payments alone. This financial pressure absorbed 15 per cent of their export revenues and 4 per cent of their gross national income. […]