London: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday hailed a G7 decision to cancel bilateral debt with Haiti, saying "a nation buried in rubble must not also be buried in debt".
Brown was responding to an announcement by Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty after two days of G7 talks in northern Canada. Britain is part of the G7 -- the world's seven leading industrialised countries.
"It must be right that a nation buried in rubble must not also be buried in debt," Brown said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office.
"The UK has already cancelled all debts owed to it by Haiti and I strongly welcome today's G7 commitment to forgive Haiti’s remaining multilateral debt. We will work with others to make sure this is delivered."
Around a million people were left homeless in Haiti after a devastating earthquake on January 12.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, February 07, 2010, 09:36