|
G8 urged to help Africa
11/07/2006 12:35 - (SA)
Addis Ababa - World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz on Tuesday urged the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialised countries to follow through on development pledges made to Africa last year.
At the start of a six-nation tour of Africa - to be interrupted by a trip to this weekend's G8 summit in Russia - Wolfowitz called on the bloc to make good on its vows, particularly on debt relief and development aid.
He said: "Africa is our most important priority", adding that he would bring a "very clear message" about the continent to G8 leaders in St Petersburg.
"We must deliver on the promises made last year to this great continent to help provide the opportunity for the poorest Africans to lift themselves out of poverty and make steady progress toward a better life for future generations."
Ethiopia 'a critical partner'
Wolfowitz, who was due to meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other top officials, was making his second trip to Africa since assuming leadership of the World Bank and would travel on from here to Tanzania.
He called Ethiopia, which had been wracked by political crises since disputed elections last year, "a critical partner" in efforts to boost development on the world's poorest continent.
Wolfowitz said: "Its stability and prosperity are crucial to the entire Horn of Africa", adding that recent positive momentum be sustained.
Last month, the World Bank loaned Ethiopia $274.7m to finance rural development projects, after having suspended direct budget support to the government, along with European donors, in December due to political concerns.
Addis Ababa had come under intense criticism for its heavy-handed response to opposition protests that rocked the capital and outlying towns in June and November over alleged fraud in May 2005 elections.
At least 84 people were killed, many of them by police, and thousands detained and a group of opposition figures were now on trial, accused of conspiring with Eritrean-backed rebels to overthrow the government.
Wolfowitz was to travel from Ethiopia to Tanzania on Thursday before going to the G8 summit after which he would return to Africa for stops in Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
|
News
