Africa calls on G8 to scrap debt

African leaders want to see all of the continent's debt cancelled

Leaders at the African Union summit in Libya have called for full debt cancellation for all African nations on the eve of the G8 meeting in Scotland.

They welcomed last month's $40bn debt relief package already agreed by the G8, but said they wanted all of Africa's debt to be written off.

The summit statement called for fairer trade with the developed world and an end to agricultural subsidies.

The leaders pressed for two permanent seats on the UN Security Council.

A decision on which two countries these should be was put off.

The leaders said debt forgiveness "must be applied by all creditors (multinational, bilateral and commercial), including the African Development Bank" and that "all African countries must benefit from this measure".

The end-of-summit statement also called for "the abolition of subsidies that stand as an obstacle to trade" and for the adoption of a "calendar" for the abolition of these subsidies.

The leaders pledged to step up their efforts to end war and political instability and improve standards of governance to attract investment to the continent.

Several of the heads of state have been invited to G8 summit which opens on Wednesday in Gleneagles and which will, among other things, look at ways of helping Africa out of poverty.

Fair trade

African Union chairman and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told the 53 delegates at the summit in the coastal town of Sirte that the continent was moving from a past of military coups to a future of good governance.

This is not the time for a lot of talk but more of a time for serious and concerted action Olusegun Obasanjo African Union chairman and Nigerian president Protesters in court before G8 Africa to seek UNSC seats African press looks to G8

Mr Obasanjo, who will be attending the G8 summit called for "massive" financial help from the West.

"This is not the time for a lot of talk but more of a time for serious and concerted action," he told the gathering.

Mr Obasanjo's remarks contrasted with those of Col Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, who said Africa should refuse all conditional aid and some offers of help from former colonial powers.

In a 30-minute speech which received muted applause from African leaders, the Libyan leader said: "We are not beggars at the doorsteps of the rich.

"If you give a poor man money, you don't ask him to change his clothes or the way he prays."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told reporters in Sirte most countries would prefer to use trade to lift themselves out of poverty than live on handouts.

He said the challenge beyond aid would be the abandonment of restrictive trade embargoes and subsidies so that the countries of Africa could compete more fairly.

Meanwhile, a conference of international business leaders and six African presidents is under way in London, charged with drawing up an action plan for development in Africa to present to the G8.