When developing countries run into debt crises, we in the developed world advise them, sometimes directly and sometimes through international agencies such as the IMF, to sell assets.

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Mr Bwanali added that Malawi had joined other developing countries in pressing for debt cancellation so the money saved could be used for anti Aids programs.

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How can the wild swings in debt flows to developing countries be tamed?

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Clinton said the second item on his agenda would be a comprehensive effort to provide many struggling African nations with relief from their international debts, in keeping with a growing movement worldwide to provide debt relief to developing countries.

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"This government has done more than any other to improve conditions in developing countries but all the billions of debt relief cannot compensate for the hundreds of thousands of lives that are lost in conflict zones throughout the world each year, " he said.

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The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon the international community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries, in order to supplement the efforts of the Governments of such countries to attain the full realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of their people.

UNESCO: Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

Interestingly, the finance ministers of several important U.S. allies (notably the United Kingdom and the Netherlands) object to such a transfer of risk to governments and taxpayers (including through the IMF and World Bank) that is a feature of the Brady Debt Reduction Plan for developing countries.

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As part of their preparatory work for the summit, finance ministers, when they met in Halifax, also discussed another much-heralded policy initiative, first introduced in 1999: the provision of debt relief to the poorest developing countries, known as HIPC.

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Andrew Burns, head author of the report, said developing countries need to reduce their fiscal vulnerabilities by lowering short-term debt levels, reducing their budget deficits and returning to a more neutral monetary policy stance instead of constantly cutting rates to historic lows.

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Brady bonds are U.S.-dollar denominated debt issued by non-U.S. countries, usually developing nations.

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