British Prime Minister Tony Blair claimed in Washington yesterday he had made "significant" progress towards a deal with the US to cancel the debt of Third World countries, writes Conor O'Clery in New York.
After meeting President George Bush in the White House, Mr Blair told a joint press conference that he was "pleased at the progress we are making" on debt relief but that African countries had to respond by providing good governance and fighting corruption.
Mr Bush said: "Our countries are developing a proposal for the G8 that will eliminate 100 per cent of that debt of third world countries."
The US president denied using "rock star" language on eliminating poverty and praised Irish rock singer, Bono of U2.
"Bono has come to see me," Mr Bush said. "I admire him. He is a man of depth and great heart. He cares deeply about the impoverished folks on the continent of Africa. I admire his leadership on the issue."
The two leaders were meeting for the first time since the disclosure of a British memo dated July 23rd, 2002, eight months before the invasion of Iraq, that US intelligence was fixed around a predetermined policy.
Nothing was further from the truth that "we had made up our minds to use military force", Mr Bush said. "Both of us didn't want to use our military. The consequences of committing our military are very difficult."
Mr Blair said that there was a real desire to cancel the Third World debt "in such a way that it does not disadvantage the international institutions".
He hoped that G8 finance ministers would conclude a deal on debt relief this weekend but that there was "a lot more to do" to help create infrastructure and fight killer diseases in Africa.
However Mr Blair encountered a blunt refusal by President George Bush to go along fully with his Marshall-type plan to rescue the African continent from poverty.
The British leader welcomed an announcement from Mr Bush that he would allocate $674 million (€550 million) for humanitarian emergencies in Africa, mainly in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
"It's important we deal with the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea but obviously there's a lot more that needs to be dealt with and as the administration has made clear this is not the only commitment they have made," he said.
Mr Blair is visiting the world capitals to seek support for his Africa plan before a G8 summit of the world's major industrialised democracies and Russia at Gleneagles in Scotland next month.
British Chancellor Gordon Brown has drawn up an International Finance Facility scheme for debt relief in Africa of $50 billion a year in bonds.
Mr Bush defended the US role in Africa, saying that Washington had tripled its aid to sub-Saharan Africa in the past four years.
However he said they expected reciprocation. "Nobody wants to give money to a country that is corrupt where leaders take money and put it in their pocket," he said.
The US response was met with deep disappointment from across the British aid sector. Oxfam urged Mr Blair not to water down his ambitious proposals on aid, trade and debt.
"International public pressure is building on all of the G8 leaders," said Oxfam Director Barbara Stocking. "Saving Africa has to remain a higher priority than saving face.
"To waste this momentum now, to drop the bar and lower the ambition at this critical stage," would be seen by many as a betrayal of Africa, she said.