[stop-imf] Nigeria expects IMF agreement by end-March

[Robert Weissman]

[B] Obasanjo says Nigeria expects IMF agreement by end-March
By Agence France-Presse

Paris--Feb 8--Visiting Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said
Tuesday he expected to strike an accord with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) concerning economic reforms in Nigeria by the end of March. "
We have virtually concluded an agreement with the IMF," Obasanjo told
reporters after meeting with members of the French business leaders'
organization MEDEF.

Obasanjo, on a 3-day visit to France, is seeking to alleviate his
country's massive foreign debt estimated at $34 billion.

The bulk of the debt is owned to creditor nations of the Paris Club.

Obasanjo's entourage said earlier this week that the United States and
leading European nations had made it clear that an agreement between
Nigeria and the Paris Club was a precondition for fresh support from
the IMF and the World Bank.

The Paris Club, however, indicated Monday that no meetings were
planned during Obsanjo's visit.

An official said that the Paris Club would discuss easing the terms of
Nigeria's debt once the IMF decides on needed economic reforms.

Obasanjo, who is in France to drum up investment, has stressed during
his visit that he would be unable to bring his country out of its
economic slump without outside help.

He met Monday with French counterpart Jacques Chirac and Prime
Minister Lionel Jospin, both of whom assured him of their country's
support.

"France is trying to convince the International Monetary Fund and the
Paris Club of creditor nations that a mutually acceptable solution must
be found," Jospin told Obasanjo.

He and Chirac also paid tribute to Obasanjo for democratizing his
country, embracing market reforms and fighting rampant corruption.

"He has come to symbolize the return to democracy in Africa's most
populous country," Jospin said.

Obasanjo was scheduled Tuesday to meet with various French business
officials. Trade between France and Nigeria stood at 7.7 billion
francs ($1.1 billion dollars) in 1998.

On Wednesday, Obasanjo is to visit the Aerospatiale and Airbus
Industrie plants in Toulouse in southwestern France, from where he will
depart for a one-day visit to Portugal. End