WORLD BANK AND IMF REACH $55 BILLION DEBT DEAL, DISCUSS TRADE

On September 25th, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund reached an agreement on the debt relief program announced at July’s G8 Summit. In the $55 billion debt deal, the institutions will cancel debts owed by some of the poorest countries in the world by the end of 2005.

“This is a moment of real opportunity,” Paul Wolfowitz, the newly appointed president of the World Bank, stated. “The path to complete debt relief has now been cleared.'' The 38 countries that have been designated for 100% debt relief will be able to take funds previously designated for interest payments and use them instead to invest in their own people.

The World Bank and IMF also discussed fair trade, emphasizing that debt relief is merely the first step in the process to aid the impoverished. Trade barriers, including subsidies and tariffs, remain as obstacles for developing countries.


Updated October 14, 2005