GATT MEETING HEARS PLEA FOR AFRICAN DEBT RELIEF
Debt among African
countries will continue to grow and their economies will remain
stifled unless developed countries lower their interest rates,
Nigerian Trade Minister Samaila Mamman said today.
    He told an informal meeting of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade the widening gap between industrialized and
developing countries and an unfair international economic
system were major obstacles to growth in developing countries.
    "I wish to emphasize that the growth in the volume of the
external indebtedness of African countries reflects the full
effect of the deflationary monetary and trade policies of the
developed market economy countries," Mamman said.
    Delegates from 23 countries are attending the talks of the
world trade body in the New Zealand resort of Taupo.
 Reuter
