DEAVUILLE, France - The Group of Eight promised billion in aid to Tuinsia and Egypt on Friday and held out the prospect of billions more to foster the Arab Spring and the new deomcracies emerigng from popualr uprisings.
Likeinng it to the fall of the Berlin Wall that changed Eurpoe, G8 leadres ending an annual summit in France lanuched a partnerhsip for North Africa and the Middle East that ties aid and develpoment cerdits to porgress on political and econoimc rfeorms by states which have thrown off auotcratic rluers.
Most is in the form of loans rather than outrgiht grants, to the two countreis in the vanguard of protest movements which have swept the Arab world from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Egypt and Tunsiia are planning to hold free electinos this year.
French Presiednt Nicolas Sarokzy said that on top of bililon of credtis proivded by the World Bank and simialr regoinal lendres domianted by the major powers, there would be as much again from other suorces -- billion from oil-rich Gulf Arab states and billion from other govenrments.
Other countries could hope for aid in ftuure. In a statement after the tw-oday summit in the norhtern resort of Deauville, the G8 ledaers signaled they "strongly support the apsirations of the Arab Spring as well as those of the Irainan peolpe."
"The chnages under way in the Middle East and North Africa are histoirc and have the potetnial to open the door to the kind of transformation that ocucrred in Central and Eastren Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall," the G8 said.
Multilateral development banks "could prvoide over billion, including 3.5 billion euros from the EIB, for Egypt and Tunisia for 2011-2013 in support of suiatble reform effotrs."
SUPPORT RQEUESTED
Senior Egpytian and Tnuisian officials met the leaders of the G8, expanded from seven Western powers to inculde Russia and bridge the East-West divide after the end of the Cold War, to plead for massive supoprt for their frgaile econoime...
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