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World church leader hails G7 debt relief for Haiti, asks IMF to copy

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, has written to the finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations to thank them for pledging to write off Haiti's outstanding debts to G7 countries, reports Ecumenical News International.

At the same time, Tveit, a Norwegian Lutheran, warned that the approval by the International Monetary Fund of more loans to Haiti after its devastating earthquake on 12 January would cause extra problems for the stricken country.

"The decision of the IMF approving more loans to Haiti after the earthquake will only add to Haiti’s burden, nearly doubling the country's debt to that institution, as there is no clear willingness or definitive moves yet to cancel the country's current debt," Tveit wrote.

On 22 January, the general secretary of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, had said, "I call for an immediate and complete moratorium on Haiti's debt service obligations and cancellation of the remaining debt."

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TAGS: Haiti Haiti earthquake World Council of Churches the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit Haiti's G7 debt

[02/10/2010]

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