L AQUILA: Egypt s President Hosni Mubarak on Friday urged the leaders of the world s richest countries to freeze repayments due on loans to Africa in order to help the poorest through the economic crisis.
He said African borrowers should enjoy preferential terms and urged the West to reject protectionism in trade and to seek a way to cover the gaps that have appeared in foreign aid budgets during the global slowdown.
The Egyptian leader was addressing a working meeting between the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States and eight African leaders on the closing day of the G8 summit in Italy.
He called on them to guarantee that the major industrialized countries stimulus plans don t lead to protectionist policies and don t aggravate the imbalances in the international commercial system.
The G8 leaders had already signed a declaration rejecting protectionism, and promising to renew efforts to reach an agreement on the Doha round of global trade negotiations in 2010.
Africa, whose economies are often dependent on exports and international aid, has been sorely hit by the global crisis, which began when Western banks were exposed has having taken on too much risky debt.
According to the International Monetary Fund, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will fall to 1.5 percent this year from 5.5 percent in 2008. -AFP
