/ 19 December 2000

DEBT RELIEF FOR IVORY COAST IN DOUBT

AN offer from France of 800m francs ($109.3m) to pay off Ivorian debt arrears risked being withdrawn for political reasons and Ivory Coast may have to look for help elsewhere, President Laurent Gbagbo said. Ahead of December 10 parliamentary elections in the West African country, France had called for open, inclusive elections and it subsequently slammed the exclusion of ex-Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara because of doubts about his nationality. – Reuters