Britain waives debt from 41 countries

Britain is to waive all bilateral debt owned by the world's poorest 41 countries in a relief package worth a total of more than five billion pounds, Finance Secretary Gordon Brown announced Tuesday.

The announcement is intended to give renewed impetus to an international debts relief program which last autumn saw the world's richest countries agree to write off 90% of the money owed by the heavily-indebted poor countries.

Brown said after a seminar with church leaders and UK charities at 11 Downing street that the time was right for Britain to "take the extra step on our own" in order to allow the poor nations to divert their scarce resources from debt repayments to priorities such as health, sanitation and education.

The finance secretary called on the other G-7 nations to follow Britain's lead, adding that he was hopeful that some would do so over the next few months.

The action in bringing the relief package up to 100 percent would cost the British treasury 640 million pounds over the next 20 years on top of previous commitments, he said.

The first four countries to qualify: Uganda, Mozambique, Bolivia, and Mauritania, should feel the benefit of the debt relief program by the end of january, Brown added, with another six countries benefiting by next spring and a total of 25 benefiting by the end of 2000.