SG/SM/7493

SECRETARY-GENERAL VOICES DISAPPOINTMENT AT G-7’S FAILURE TO DELIVER ON PROMISED DEBT RELIEF

The 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 world’s leading industrial nations, promised to cancel some $100 billion of debt to some of the world’s 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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United Nations