International

G-8 leaders pledge $1 b. more in debt relief

Calgary (Canada) June 27. The Group of Eight members have agreed at their summit to grant an extra $1 billion in debt relief to the world's 42 poorest countries, a German government source said.

The initiative for Highly Indebted Poor Countries will benefit states with debts equal to at least 120 per cent of their gross domestic product, including 22 in Africa.

The world's poorest continent is the focus of G-8 consideration at its two-day summit in the Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis.

Six countries — Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda — have already benefited from debt relief, with the money "saved" being earmarked for reinvestment in health care and education. The full HIPC project is estimated to cost $27 billion.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, said his country had pledged an additional $200 million to the plan, in spite of a weaker economy.

The G-8 decision came a day before leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States were to welcome counterparts from five African nations to discuss an indigenous plan known as the New Partnership for Africa's Development. The $1 billion promised yesterday will benefit African countries, hit hard by a plunge in prices for their crucial raw material exports.

In another development, the G-8 leaders clinched a $20 billion deal to finance a programme designed to keep Russia's vulnerable excess plutonium deposits out of the hands of terrorists, German delegation sources said. Under the plan, the U.S. will put up $10 billion over 10 years, amid anxiety that terror groups could sow carnage by detonating nuclear, or "dirty bombs."

Other members of the Group of Seven nations, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Japan are required to come up with another $10 billion under the plan, which has become known as "10 plus 10 over 10."

— AP, AFP

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