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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Murphy who wrote (3259)	1/31/1999 12:27:00 PM
From: Pete Schueler	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81011

Bill, I picked up the following item from the Financial Times website.The third paragraph is notable, in particular coming from Al Gore. Al Gore can barely tie his shoes. Who told him to say this and why? Please note that Rubin and Summers were at the same conference. This is a clever way for making gold sales "politically correct". THIRD WORLD: Gore pledges on debt relief By Robert Chote, Economics Editor, in Davos The long-running campaign to lift the burden of unsustainable debt from the world's poorest nations yesterday received a fresh fillip from the US, which pledged new money for debt relief and promised to pursue extra resources from the International Monetary Fund. Al Gore, the US vice president, told the World Economic Forum's annual meeting that there would be "significant new US funding for poor, highly indebted nations" in the Clinton administration's forthcoming budget proposals, which will be presented to Congress on Monday. Mr Gore also expressed the hope that there would finally be agreement to sell and reinvest a small part of the IMF's $30bn gold reserves, in order to help pay the institution's share of the debt relief bill. "I hope this can be the year when international financial institutions are able to fully do their part," he said. The US initiative is doubly significant, in that it comes just days after the new German government announced its own debt relief proposals. These will be high on the agenda at the Cologne summit of heads of government from the Group of Seven leading industrial nations this summer. Germany, although a generous provider of bilateral development aid, has long been sceptical about the wisdom of debt relief - and especially the use of the IMF's gold reserves to help finance it. But Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, called last week for the debt relief available to poor countries under existing mechanisms to be extended and speeded up, raising hopes that Germany may also drop its opposition to IMF gold sales. Officials noted Italy's opposition to gold sales had also softened. Development officials were sceptical that the US would come up with much new money itself, but welcomed the renewed political momentum that Mr Gore's unexpected comments signalled. "We must never lose sight of the poorest nations," Mr Gore said. "We would like to see, this year, on the brink of a new millennium, decisive progress towards debt relief for the world's poorest and most indebted countries. Debt relief means removal of the overhang - that is, the burden that debts place on investment - and it means more resources for environmental protection and child survival." Officials said the fresh impetus for debt relief across the G7 was testament to the pressure applied by lobbying groups such as Jubilee 2000, which is campaigning for a much more ambitious debt write-off than that favoured by the international financial institutions. Under current arrangements, multilateral and bilateral lenders offer to reduce poor countries' debts to what they regard as a "sustainable" level if they complete a lengthy track record of sound policies. "Mr Gore's comments are really welcome, particularly the idea of gold sales," said Justin Forsyth, of development campaigners Oxfam International in Washington. But the political momentum would have to be maintained. "We need stronger US leadership this year than we saw last year," he added. Gordon Brown, the UK chancellor, also urged further progress on debt relief. He noted that there was "a window of opportunity" in Nigeria, where the re-establishment of relations with the IMF may open the door to relief of bilateral debts through the Paris Club.