British Chancellor Gordon Brown believes G8 finance ministers can today conclude an agreement on his plans for African debt relief amounting to "the biggest debt settlement the world has ever seen." Frank Millar reports.
That proud prediction was buttressed by reports yesterday that the US is ready to accept that the package of debt relief to be considered at next month's G8 Summit at Gleneagles should include money owed by the poorest countries to the International Monetary Fund, as well as to the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
As his fellow finance ministers flew into London for two days of talks, Mr Brown told BBC's Today programme: "I am grateful to John Snow, the American [ Treasury] Secretary, for saying that he wants to get an agreement this weekend, and I believe my European friends who I have talked to in the last few days are of the same view. It would be a historic agreement.
"Much is still to be done but I think there is a will to do this in a way that would see the biggest debt settlement the world has ever seen."
Mr Brown's anticipation of a major success on the debt issue came as he signalled no British retreat on ambitious plans for a doubling of aid and for "trade justice".
At the same time, 10 Downing Street announced that Prime Minister Tony Blair will travel to Moscow, Berlin, Paris and Luxembourg next week in another round of shuttle diplomacy seeking support for his twin G8 agenda to alleviate poverty in Africa and tackle climate change.
Number 10 appeared unperturbed by the possibility that Mr Blair's trip could be overshadowed by the growing row with France and Germany over the EU budget and the British rebate, as well as the continued uncertainty about the future of the European Constitution.
A spokesman said: "This is part of the programme to meet leaders in advance of the G8 Summit but clearly there will be discussion at those meetings about the European Council meeting on Thursday as well."
However, Live 8 organiser Sir Bob Geldof publicly acknowledged the risk of "grotesque failure" at Gleneagles, and some critical comment suggesting that Mr Blair and Mr Brown would do well to lower rather than heighten public expectations.
The view in Whitehall is that Sir Geldof is playing clever politics and is right to maintain the public pressure on G8 leaders. However, his warning that Mr Blair and President George W Bush should "get off the corruption thing" will strengthen US determination that any debt and aid package must be tied to the issues of governance, transparency and reforms to root out corruption.
Following his talks with Mr Blair at the White House this week, Mr Bush said that nobody wanted "to give money to a country that's corrupt... where leaders take money and put it in their pockets".
Downing Street shares Mr Bush's scepticism about some African governments, but sees the African Union as a partner able to apply "peer pressure" to drive reform.
Mr Blair is also determined not to "put the US into a corner" over its refusal to back proposals to increase aid to 0.7 per cent of GDP - recognising that the US has already tripled its aid contribution and is the world's biggest donor.
Number 10 also accepts that the US will not support Brown's proposed International Finance Facility - which would enable the front-loading of aid by issuing $50 billion (€41 billion) in bonds against future aid flows - and that this might only proceed on a limited basis, possibly with European support.
