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November 20th, 2005 | #1 |
Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Londoner in Bedford
Posts: 329
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£50m committed to disasters fund
Britain will contribute £50 million to a new international fund helping poor countries deal with economic shocks, Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced.
The International Monetary Fund scheme will offer relief in the wake of high oil prices, natural disasters, conflicts or other adverse developments. Mr Brown's Saudi Arabian and French counterparts also committed to the project, following talks between the three in Saudi. The IMF facility is expected to be capable of subsidising lending of more than £1.5 billion. Such global action was needed in response to the doubling of oil prices over the last year, "the largest sustained oil price shock since the 1970s", the Chancellor said. "This new IMF facility will play a vital role supporting poverty reduction in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, ensuring that development is not undermined by changes in economic conditions, whether those come from terms of trade shocks, high oil prices, or natural disasters," he said. "The UK's 85 million dollar contribution alone will enable 340 million dollars in much-needed new finance for poor countries. "But further contributions are needed from other donors - including from oil producers - to fund the new facility in full. "Low-income countries facing shocks are expected to need up to 3 billion dollars over the next five years, so there is a pressing need for other donors to come forward with their share of the three quarters of a billion dollars contribution needed to support this." Did anybody ask the tax payers if they wanted to donate, me id donate 50 million sub species to be returned! |
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