Wow... I thought Haiti was a poor nation in the first place... I didn't know that they were a good credit risk in the first place..
After the country was completely devastated, I can't imagine that they're going to be liquid anytime soon in order to pay off debts anyway.
Let's say that the Haiti government had surplus cash before the disaster... Helping their citizens to live & rebuild is going to suck every cent they've got..
The article says that Canada forgave $2.3 million which isn't alot.. It seems that Haiti has an external debt of $1.3 billion..
OTTAWA–Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is calling on developed countries to forgive Haiti's debt so the country can concentrate on climbing out from under the rubble and not a financial burden.
Flaherty said Wednesday that when G7 finance ministers meet in Iqaluit, Nunavut on Feb. 5-6, he will also be urging them to provide grants, not loans, to the earthquake-ravaged country, where as many as 200,000 are feared dead and elections must be put on hold.
"Reconstruction assistance provided to Haiti by these institutions and international donors will need to be provided primarily in grant form to avoid mortgaging the country's future," he told reporters during a briefing on progress in Haiti.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/haiti/article/756881--canada-calls-on-nations-to-forgive-haiti-s-debt
