G8 hammers out debt relief deal for poor nations
Sat Jun 11, 2005 12:19 PM ETBy Sumeet Desai and Brian Love
LONDON (Reuters) - The world's wealthiest countries agreed on Saturday to write off more than $40 billion of impoverished nations' debts in a drive to free Africa from hunger and disease.
The deal was struck by finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations in London after months of tense negotiations and leaves leaders to consider proposals for doubling aid at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, next month.
"We are conscious of the abject poverty that so many countries and individuals face. We're being driven forward by the urgent need to act. We've found ourselves united with a shared purpose," British finance minister Gordon Brown told a news conference.
Link to complete Reuters piece
Kudos to the U.K. for championing this effort in the face of reluctance from others.
Posted by: Reid | June 11, 2005 at 01:23 PM