Africa-trade Egypt to press Africa's case for debt relief at IMF-WB meet in Prague CAIRO, Sept 20 (AFP) - Egypt, fresh from hosting a conference of African trade ministers, said Wednesday it would press Africa's case for deeper debt relief at IMF-World Bank meetings opening this week in Prague. Yusef Boutros-Ghali, Egypt's economy and foreign trade minister, told reporters he would present an African request for more "support in reducing the percentage of debt or cancelling debts completely" at the meeting opening Thursday. Boutros-Ghali expressed what amounts to growing African calls for relief from an estimated 350 billion dollars in debt after a reporter asked what message he would take to Prague as current chairman of African trade ministers. "What is (also) requested is more support in easing conditions attached to these debts from creditor countries to debtor countries," Boutros-Ghali said, apparently referring to calls for rescheduling debts. "All these messages are very important because they are coming from one whole continent," the Egyptian minister said. He warned that developing countries had to be taken seriously because they have proven they have the power to scupper negotiations, as happened at the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference in Seattle last December. During their meeting here, the trade ministers or their representatives made a number of recommendations, including stressing the need to develop inter-African trade as a "stepping stone" to enter the global trading system. They also called on both regional and world organizations to work closely for the next WTO meeting scheduled for 2001. The ministers renewed their support for the position they took at their last meeting in Algiers, prior to the Seattle meeting, saying the WTO should consider Africa's development needs when negotiating a new trade pact. Development needs include the call to reduce the burden of repaying debts, which Africans say divert money from building badly needed health, education and transportation infrastructure. They also welcomed US trade legislation designed to improve trade and investment with Africa, but called for further studies to determine if it could have negative consequences as well. African delegates faulted the US lawmakers for failing to consult with Africans when drafting the legislation. The trade ministers also considered a Libyan proposal to start searching for a common "mechanism" to bargain for higher export prices for their raw materials when they hold their next annual meeting in Nigeria next year. lc/jh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------