G24 opens talks on global prospects

G24 opens talks on global prospects

Agence France-Presse, Washington

Finance chiefs of the 24 developing countries convened here Friday to discuss the prospects for their own economies against the backdrop of recovering global growth.

The Group of 24 (G24) finance ministers and central bank governors from Asia, Latin America and Africa will draw up a communique to be considered at weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank policymaking bodies.

Despite a U.S.-led global recovery and fresh commitments for more U.S. and European government aid, the World Bank says much more is needed to meet a worldwide promise made in 2000 to halve the proportion of impoverished people by 2015.

But growth in the past year has been respectable among developing countries during the past year's slowdown, the IMF's twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report said this week.

"While the poorest countries have clearly been adversely affected by the slowdown, primarily through lower commodity prices and falling external demand, growth has in general been surprisingly well sustained, especially in those countries with the strongest domestic policies," it said.

Developing countries' economies are expected to boost economic growth to 4.3 percent this year from 4.0 percent in 2000, the IMF said, largely because of reduced conflict and debt relief programs.

But problems are surfacing in the rich countries' program to ease the debt burden of the poor -- the so-called highly-indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative, said Economic Policy Institute director Fred Bergsten.

"The Fund and Bank are just coming out with a study report to the meeting that there are some real problems in the debt relief mechanism -- HIPC structure as it is now -- going forward," Bergsten told AFP.

"No decisions expected but I would expect some fairly energetic discussions on what next steps may be needed to revise, revamp, improve the whole HIPC process on debt relief for the poorest countries."