Finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized
nations have agreed to a debt moratorium for Asia's tsunami-hit
countries.
The G7 countries, which are all among the 19 permanent Paris
Club members, agreed on Friday to present the moratorium to a
meeting of the Paris Club countries on Wednesday in Paris, French
Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Herve Gaymard told
Europe 1 radio on Sunday. In consultations, other Paris Club
members have concurred with the freeze.
The moratorium, which would primarily benefit the worst-hit Sri
Lanka and Indonesia, will help the stricken countries devote more
resources to relief and reconstruction.
The Paris Club will consider debt cancellation or restructuring
as the second step following the moratorium, said sources close to
the club.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country
holds the presidency of the European Union (EU), expressed his
support for further debt reduction and more direct aid to the
countries hit by the tsunami.
European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis
Michel on Sunday called all European countries to contribute at
least 0.7 percent of their national income for the stricken
nations.
Also on Sunday, French Education Minister Francois Fillon made a
nationwide appeal for assistance for Asian children whose homes and
lives were devastated by the tsunami and help getting them back
into school.
He added the health and education ministries would begin a
campaign in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund and
the Red Cross that would help build reception centers to house
isolated children.
Oil-rich Kuwait announced after a cabinet meeting on Sunday that
it was raising its aid pledge for Asia's tsunami victims to US$100
million. Nearly a third of the money will be paid in cash while the
state-owned Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development will
undertake infrastructure projects worth US$70 million.
The Nigerian government said Sunday that it had pledged
US$250,000 in aid to the United Nations.
The tsunami, triggered by a huge earthquake off the Indonesian
island of Sumatra on December 26, killed at least 155,000 people,
nearly 100,000 of them in Indonesia. More than half a million
people are believed to have been injured and up to 5 million are
classified as lacking basic services.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2005)