Merkel boosts aid for Africa

Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to increase Germany’s aid contribution to poorer countries, including Africa, by €750m annually until 2011, ahead of next week’s Group of Eight summit.

In an interview conducted by anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof and published in tomorrow’s edition of Germany’s mass-circulation Bild daily, Merkel said the development aid hike was part of Berlin’s commitment to achieve its overall pledge to put 0.51% of its gross domestic product toward such assistance.

“We know our commitment and we will live up to it,” Merkel said, “because we want to remain credible.”

Merkel has pledged that aid for Africa will play a major role at the June 6 to June 8 G8 summit in the northern German Baltic sea resort of Heiligendamm.

Aid group campaigners, including Geldof, have said that rich countries have not fulfilled their promise from a 2005 G8 summit to increase foreign aid by some €50bn annually to poor countries, with half of that going to Africa, by 2010.

Geldof welcomed Germany’s pledge, saying coming with increased financial commitments from Washington are “great momentum building up the heat on the whole G8”.