SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES DISAPPOINTMENT AT G-7"S FAILURE TO DELIVER ON PROMISED DEBT RELIEF
Press Release
SG/SM/7493
SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES DISAPPOINTMENT AT G-7S FAILURE TO DELIVER ON PROMISED DEBT RELIEF
20000724The following statement was issued on Friday, 21 July, by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General expressed his disappointment today at the failure of the G-7 States to provide the promised debt relief to poor countries in a timely manner.
For four years, we have had too many promises and too little action, he said.
The Secretary-General noted that last year the G-7, which groups the worlds leading industrial nations, promised to cancel some $100 billion of debt to some of the worlds poorest countries.
But thus far only nine out of 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries have qualified for relief worth some $15 billion, he said.
I recognize that there are no simple solutions to the debt problem. But where there is agreement in principle that debt relief is essential, and where delays have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of poor people, clearly more must be done.
I urge all parties to commit themselves to resolving their differences on this vital issue as a matter of urgency.
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