Morocco calls for creation of independent body on African debt

Morocco on Sunday called for the setting up of an independent body to study the viability of debt owed by African nations.

The international community should take initiatives to tackle the debt issue in a radical manner, Moroccan foreign affairs and cooperation minister, Mohamed Benaissa, told the 10th United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD), currently held in Bangkok.

Benaissa, who is acting chairman of the Group of 77 plus China ministerial conference, underlined that external debt is a major brake to development. "A solution that goes through eliminating debt structural causes is necessary, especially for African countries," he said.

The foreign minister, who stressed that globalization should benefit developing countries, called on the developed nations to think over the development strategies.