The Paris Club of 19 creditor nations announced here Wednesday that they have agreed to unconditionally freeze debt repayments for the countries devastated by last month's tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

The suspension will take effect immediately, said Paris Club President Jean-Pierre Joyuet at a news conference after a meeting of the informal organization on the plight of Asian countries caused by the Dec. 26 catastrophe.

Nearly 160,000 people were killed by the tsunami, which was triggered by a huge earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. More than half a million people are believed to have been injured and up to 5 million are classified as lacking basic services.

"In this exceptional situation, creditors wished that the suspension not be submitted to any conditions, neither an accord with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), nor to comparable treatment by private creditors," Joyuet said.

The IMF and the World Bank will make an evaluation of needs to allow the Paris Club to refine its answer in conformity with the situation of the applicant countries.

The measure is expected to benefit Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles, he added. Other countries hit such as India and Thailand did not request a freeze on their debt repayments.

Indonesia's foreign debt totals around US$132 billion, and Sri Lanka's foreign debt is roughly US$7.7 billion.

French Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Herve Gaymard, who attended the club meeting, said the G7 countries, which are all among the 19 permanent Paris Club members, agreed to the moratorium.

"Considering the difficult circumstances of the three countries' economies, it seems to the G7 members, following Germany and France's initiative, that a moratorium is absolutely indispensable for the stricken countries to overcome these huge difficulties," Gaymard said.

A freeze on debt repayments would help the tsunami-stricken countries have more resources for relief and reconstruction, he added.

To show its support to the deal, Sweden said Wednesday it is prepared to freeze the US$7.6 million debt over the next two years owed by Indonesia, which was hard hit by the tsunami.

"I welcome the G7 countries' decision to freeze debt payments from the Asian countries hit by the tsunami ... Sweden supports this," Finance Minister Paer Nuder said.

"The aim is for the countries to use their freed resources on humanitarian efforts and rebuilding. An important requirement is that all the freed resources be used to help the entire population in the affected regions," the minister said.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan hailed Wednesday the promises of aid for the tsunami relief operation and called on the international community to make good on its pledges.

"The secretary general appreciates this expression of confidence by the international community in the United Nations' coordination of relief efforts," Annan's spokesman said in a statement.

"The secretary general looks forward to continued international cooperation, building on the encouraging efforts made during the initial response to the crisis," the spokesman said.

Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said Wednesday that his country is to double the humanitarian aid fund to tsunami-hit countries to 20 million euros (about US$26 million).

"Having witnessed the devastation at first hand, it is clear there is an enormous challenge of recovery and reconstruction over the coming years," he said at the end of a three-day visit to Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

"I am prepared to allocate a further 10 million euros (about US$13 million) from my department's Emergency Humanitarian Funding, bringing the total funding available for the tsunami disaster to 20 million euros," he added.

The Slovakian government said Wednesday that it has released almost 1 million dollars to help the victims of tidal waves. Half of the money went to the UN agencies and the Red Cross, and the rest was either for reconstruction projects or released to Sri Lanka in humanitarian aid.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Wednesday that his country will provide 4 million dollars to help build an early warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean,

The aid for the system will come from the US$250 million grants Japan has offered to provide through international organizations, Hosoda said. It has pledged another US$250 million as bilateral grants-in-aid.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2005)