07/08/2005 – 10:05 AM
Among the plan’s broad strokes, Blair said it would see a $15 billion “uplift in aid,” cancellation of the debt of the poorest nations, universal access to AIDS treatment and the commitment to a new peacekeeping force for Africa.
The agreement does not include consensus on setting a goal of 0.7 percent of GDP in foreign aid by 2015 — an issue on which Prime Minister Paul Martin and U.S. President George Bush have stood firmly opposed.
Thanks to a late-hour agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, however, it will push foreign aid from the current $25 billion to $50 billion. In return, African governments would be expected to commit to “democracy, good governance and the rule of law.”
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