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| Tuesday, 04 January 2005 |
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Britain wants G8 to reduce debt of tsunami-hit countries LONDON, Monday (AFP) Britain, which holds the presidency of the G8 bloc of leading industrialized nations, wants to reach agreement by mid-January on reducing the debt of the countries hit by the tsunami in Asia, the Financial Times reported Monday. "We want to get to a position where we can come to the Paris Club (of creditor governments) and they are able to have a substantial discussion on debt relief," a treasury official told the daily. "We are optimistic that we can get to a deal on debt relief as part of the overall package of long-term financial assistance," he added. The Financial Times said that Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown would use a speech in Edinburgh on Thursday to make a plea for reducing the debt of countries like Indonesia, where more than 94,000 people perished in the December 26 disaster. However ministers do not want eventual reductions to be a substitute for direct aid to the nations suffering from the catastrophe, the FT added, nor that they be used for military spending. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday his government would do everything possible to help the tsunami victims, including through the G8 which Britain began chairing on January 1. |
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