NAM urges debt reduction for world's poorest nations
NAM urges debt reduction for world's poorest nations
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto, in his capacity as chairman
of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), yesterday renewed his appeal
to leaders of the world's wealthiest countries to reduce the debt
burdens of the world's poorest nations.
"An important issue for the poorest, heavily indebted
developing countries is the need for a `once and for all'
reduction of all types of debt, in particular multilateral debt,"
Soeharto said in a message sent ahead of the Group of Seven (G-7)
summit in Halifax, Canada, this week.
"Serious consideration should be given to the use of IMF
(International Monetary Fund) gold and other modalities for
implementing multilateral debt reduction."
The letter, a copy of which was made available to the press by
the presidential office here, was addressed to Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien, the host of the June 15-17 summit which
will be attended by leaders from the United States, Japan,
Britain, Germany, France and Italy.
Soeharto appealed for a review of the working mechanisms of
the World Bank and the IMF, including voting rights in the two
institutions.
He said those agencies, also known as the Bretton Wood
institutions, had often been used to serve the domestic political
interests of developed countries as their major shareholders.
"Such actions have resulted in an ambiguity of mission, goal
congestion and a diffused pattern of lending. There is a clear
need for these institutions to return to a more focussed set of
priorities," he said.
The NAM chairman urged the G-7 countries strive for a more
effective multilateral surveillance system of the world economy,
through greater discipline and coordination of their fiscal and
monetary policies.
Impact
"Their polices have a severe global impact through highly
unstable exchange rates and interest rates, as well as volatile
international capital flows. The developing countries have a
particularly strong stake in this matter."
This is the third consecutive occasion on which the NAM
chairman has made an appeal to the G-7 leaders just ahead of
their annual summit.
In 1993, Soeharto even traveled to Tokyo to meet with some of
the leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, just before
their summit began, drawing their attention to the plight of the
poorest developing countries in Africa and Asia, most of whom are
members of the 112-nation movement. The concerns he raised were
duly noted during the summit.
Last year, Soeharto sent a similar message ahead of the G-7
summit in Napoli, Italy. (emb)