Magnanimous IMF/World Bank move ??

[seeker]

News
09/25/2005 10:07:51 EST J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Landmark Debt Forgiveness Nears Passage
By HARRY DUNPHY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A landmark agreement to forgive billions of dollars of debt for poor countries sailed toward final approval by finance ministers after the International Monetary Fund agreed how to pay for it.
"Agreement has been reached on all the elements," said Gordon Brown, the British finance minister who is chairman of the IMF policy-setting panel "That means this historic process of completing the debt write-off that started many years ago has ended today."

He said late Saturday the IMF's 24-member executive board would meet soon to formally approve the deal.

The agreement still has to be ratified by the World Bank - a major lender to poor countries. The IMF and World Bank annual meetings continue Sunday and the bank's policy-making Development Committee is expected to follow the IMF move.

Treasury Secretary John Snow predicted the 24-member IMF and World Bank executive boards would formally approve the agreement within a week.

Speaking Sunday at a meeting of the World Bank's steering group, Snow said the debt relief agreement was both an opportunity and a challenge.

"With the crushing debt burden lifted, countries can focus their efforts on generating economic growth by investing in infrastructure to help move goods from producers to purchases and by investing in their people" through health and education projects, Snow said.

Hilary Benn, Britain's development minister, said the debt relief must be "fully financed and implemented in the most generous way possible." She also said Britain would like to see debt relief "extended to all low-income countries that need - and can use - additional debt forgiveness to achieve " their development goals.

The debt agreement would forgive an estimated $40 billion (euro33 billion) worth of payments that 18 poor countries - mostly in Africa but including Honduras and Bolivia - owe the World Bank and the IMF. But as many as 20 other countries could qualify if they met certain conditions, bringing the total to $55 billion (euro45.4 billion). The cost would be spread over decades.

Poor countries could use the money for education or drugs to fight HIV/AIDS or malaria, said supporters of debt relief who have been pressing for years for action. They include rock stars, church groups and relief agencies.

"We've seen a real breakthrough on debt cancellation by the IMF," said Max Lawson, policy adviser to the international relief agency Oxfam. "The stage is now set for the World Bank shareholders to fulfill their part of the bargain."

The endorsement by the IMF steering committee came a day after the Group of Eight major industrial nations made firm pledges to pay for the plan, a commitment intended to overcome the biggest obstacle to approval by the lending institutions and some non-G-8 European nations.

Leaders of the G-8 announced a framework for the agreement at their summit last summer in Scotland. The details of how the agreement will work were left to the World Bank and the 184-nation IMF.

But what cleared the way for the breakthrough was a pledge Friday from the G-8 _the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - "to cover the full cost to offset dollar-for-dollar" the loan payments that would be lost.

The bank uses these repayments to make new loans and provide other development aid. It was concerned its finances would be adversely affected unless the wealthy nations made up the money it would lose.

While the ministers and central bank governors met behind security fences, and orange garbage trucks blocked some streets, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against the war in Iraq. Their parade route took them past the headquarters of the World Bank two blocks from the White House.

___

On the Net:

IMF: http://www.imf.org

World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org

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Does this send up rockets regarding the coming changes to the US Bankrupcy law and the 'rumor' that it moves it into a Chapter 7 liquidation???

Seeker

[Sheps]

IMF had to make the move of lifting the debt burden. Not out of the goodness of their hearts, but again for a long term goal.

Already the natural resources have been ravished from these countries for the benefit of the greed mongers call the Fed Reserve system or centralized world banks. Now that everyone has recognized that these countries really own nothing in the first place due to the rape, piledge and control of their resources.

It is time now to lift that so-called debt and to industrialize these country in the same model of the good old USA. They will still be slaves to the rythm except it will appear that one or two are doing well, so they will be able to create that illusionary dream that rest here in America.

The money lenders (creators) are very smart! Another hoodwink of diversion, destraction, destortion to continue extortion!

Lastly, Our tax dollars in the G8 countries have to foot the bill. The elite never pay for anything they cause or do!

Thanks for the post Seeker

[sadie]

Interesting. Billions will be forgiven for foreign countries and we have a new bankruptcy law so you can never get out from the credit card scam.

Also, the bill for loans that was just put through for the states affected by katrina for rebuilding does not contain a forgiveness clause.

I guess we need to secede and declare ourselves a third world country.

[weasel]

don't forget, we're now giving 50 million to the 'victims' of the earthquake in the middle east.