Minister of State Conor Lenihan welcomes the G8 announcement on debt relief for the poorest countries in the world.

Minister of State for Development Cooperation and Human Rights, Conor Lenihan TD, today welcomed the G8 announcement on debt relief for highly indebted poor countries.

“This is a very welcome step in the right direction as the Irish Government has favoured, for a number of years, 100% debt cancellation for the poorest countries in the world”, said Minister of State Lenihan.

“This particular initiative, while the details are still unclear, should improve matters but it does need to be followed up with further concessions in relation to both trade and levels of aid for poor countries”, added the Minister.

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12 June 2005