This communique, from the G7 finance summit (via Reuters) seems noteworthy:
... We are agreed on a case-by-case analysis of HIPC countries, based on our willingness to provide as much as 100 per cent multilateral debt relief. We also ask the IMF and the World Bank to look at the issue of debt sustainability in other low-income countries...
We also call on non-Paris Club creditors to provide at least their share of HIPC debt relief, and we ask the IMF to report on progress at the Spring Meetings.
In another Reuters dispatch, there was this follow-up.
"London 2005 will in my view be seen as the 100 percent debt relief summit," British finance minister Gordon Brown said. "The G7 has never set the goal as far as 100 percent debt relief, not on any occasion beforehand, and not until today...
"We are willing to provide as much as 100 percent debt relief on all multi-lateral debt for individual HIPC countries."
"We also asked the IMF and the World Bank to look at the debt problems of other poor countries that are not classified as HIPC or highly indebted poor countries but are part of the numbers of low income countries throughout the world," Brown said.
"And we draw attention today to outstanding debt that is owed to countries as varied as Lybia and Romania and some countries in eastern Europe which is bilateral debt owed to them but has never been cancelled.
Not all applications are welcome, of course.
On Argentine [British finance minister Gordon Brown] said, "There is no reference to Argentina in the communique. The managing director (of the IMF) has been given all the support of G7 as far as discussions with Argentina are concerned."
"In addition, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund will be bringing forward proposals at the spring conference, only two months away, that will deal with debt owed to the IMF. The proposal will cover gold other resources and actions that would be taken in a more direct way."...
German Finance Minister Han Eichel said on debt-relief: "One thing must be clear, the number of countries must restricted to the HIPC-countries, the poorest countries with the highest debt. "The debt-relief could be up to 100 percent, but your have to look at every country separately".
There really wasn't much on Chinese exchange rate policy, and even the Europeans stuck with the party line regarding US current account deficits:
[ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet] said the G7's view was that the U.S. current account deficit would be "progressively and smoothly resolved over a period of time, in the medium term and that progressively and without global growth, and growth in the G7 being hampered, we could progressively solve these imbalances."
"Our working assumption would be that it would be a smooth correction."
UPDATE: And here, from Tim Worstall, is a word of warning.