LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has chipped in 20 million pounds as part of an international effort to clear debt arrears owed by Liberia to multilateral lenders, the government said on Thursday.
The move is part of a drive to enable Liberia to qualify for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, a programme to assist the poorest and most indebted nations, the Treasury and Department for International Development said in a statement.
"The UK government's support will secure Liberia's rapid entry into the HIPC initiative, which we hope will support its reform efforts and provide much needed resources for poverty reduction," International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said.
(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Stephen Weeks; Reuters Messaging: adrian.croft.reuters.com@reuters.net ; +4420 7542 7767)
