Good news this weekend on the debt front!

Debt deal done, focus on trade: Wolfowitz
Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:23 PM ET

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - All 184 member countries of the World Bank and
IMF have now agreed on debt relief for the world’s poorest nations, but
need to push for a free-trade pact at a Hong Kong meeting in December
to accelerate the fight against poverty, development leaders said on
Sunday.

International Monetary Fund and World Bank chiefs said they would move
quickly to finalize the agreement to wipe out the debts of 18
countries, most of them African, following a breakthrough in talks at
the weekend.

“The path to complete debt relief has now been cleared,” said World
Bank president Paul Wolfowitz. “We will move swiftly to give the bank’s
board of directors a paper outlining a compensation schedule and a
monitoring system — a process that can be completed within weeks.”

The debt agreement, sealed by the Group of Eight industrial powers in
July, was given the nod on Saturday by the rest of the international
community after they bridged differences over the financing of the deal.

Faced with the possible collapse of the agreement, the world’s industrial powers promised additional money to cover the costs.

Wolfowitz urged global trade ministers to follow this example and
complete the Doha trade round in Hong Kong, which has been stalled
mainly over differences on farm and services issues.

“The momentum we now have must be maintained heading into the WTO
negotiations in Hong Kong,” Wolfowitz told a news conference at the end
of the semi-annual World Bank and IMF meetings.

“We have agreement on more aid, we have consensus on debt relief — now
let’s complete the picture and deliver a true development round on
trade.”

Read the entire article here…

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