Seventeenth Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers

"I would like to emphasize that the single most important impediment to Africa's development is the problem of its debt burden. There is nothing new to add other than what is articulated in the African Common Position and what we have repeatedly said on this matter. Suffice it to say that Africa's debt has attained unbearable propositions to the extent where many African countries are no longer in a position to service their debts, let alone pay them off completely. In this regard, the arguments increasingly being put across for an outright cancellation of Africa's debt are not baseless. Such cancellation will be the most effective boost and the most evident demonstration of support by the international community for the ongoing process of political and socioeconomic transition in Africa." - Dr. Salim, March 27, 1995