Brown wins US backing for debt relief boost

Attending a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of Eight, Mr Brown's calls for the rich world to make good on its promises on debt write-off won crucial backing from the US, which is seeking to cancel Iraqi debt.

Progress on the so-called heavily indebted poor countries initiative has been slow since its launch five years ago and only about half of the 30-plus countries it was designed to help have come through the process.

Falling commodity prices have left many poor countries struggling even after they have had some debts written off.

So Mr Brown, a leading proponent of HIPC, had been pushing for another $1bn to be put into it to "top up" relief for some countries. Until now each country had been examined individually.

Mr Brown succeeded in persuading the G8 ministers to say in the communiqué issued after their meeting that they were committed to full implementation of HIPC, including topping up to ensure countries' debts were reduced to sustainable levels.

"We are pushing for a new deal on debt relief for the poorest countries," he said. "The lesson of the implementation of HIPC so far is that we need ways to speed up the process, and to achieve a quicker exit from unsustainable debt for the remaining countries."