World Bank: Close debt relief deal

The World Bank could be close to backing a deal to cancel up to £31bn (357mrd.kr.) of debts owed by some of the world's poorest countries.


The international lender’s policymaking committee is meeting on Sunday, a day after the International Monetary Fund said it would support the plan.

Leaders of the G8 industrialised states proposed the debt relief deal at their July summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Speaking on Saturday after the IMF’s announcement, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown, who heads the institution’s steering committee, said: “Agreement has now been reached on all the elements of the debt deal.”