RUSSIA plans to cancel more than half of Mozambique’s debt according to an agreement signed between the two countries, the Mozambique News Agency reported on Wednesday. According to the agreement, the forgiven debt would be earmarked for poverty alleviation programs in this southern African country – one of the nation’s poorest countries. Some $300-million of the total debt of $509-million would be cancelled. The former Soviet Union was one of the main donors to the formerly Marxist Mozambique. It was not immediately clear how long Mozambique would have to repay the remaining $209-million debt, or whether the debt might be reduced even further. Much of the debt stems from the purchase of military equipment and oil from the former Soviet Union. – Sapa-AFP