Mbeki salutes G8 debt plan
2005-06-12 12:28
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday saluted the historic deal by the world's most industrialised nations to write off debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest countries, saying it would boost Africa's regeneration.
"The president is encouraged and believes this is a step in the right direction.
"It will go a long way towards the regeneration of the continent," Mbeki's spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced the debt write-off of some $40bn (€33bn) in multilateral debt in London on Saturday after a two-day meeting of the Group of Eight's finance ministers.
Fourteen of the 18 countries to benefit were in Africa, the world's poorest continent.
"The write off is one of the key demands of Nepad," Khumalo told AFP, referring to Africa's home-grown rescue plan.
Devised in 2001, the New Partnership for Africa's Development aimed at revitalising the continent's ailing economy by attracting private investors with progress in conflict-resolution and improved transparency.
But Khumalo said the issue of debt required "even greater movement."
"We need to move on issues such as a fairer trade regime and that of agricultural subsidies," which were still biased in favour of the northern hemisphere, Khumalo said.
Three countries in southern Africa will benefit from the debt write-off: Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia.