Nicaragua's leaders on Monday greeted the debt relief initiative from the world's leading industrialized nations as a positive step, but said it was still waiting for exact details of the final sum, dpa reported. President Enrique Bolanos said he was hoping for 1 billion dollars in debt relief, as recognition for the reform policies of his government. Over the weekend, the Group of Eight largest industrial nations agreed to scrap 40 billion dollars in debt for 14 African and four Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Guyana and Honduras. The African countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Nicaragua is currently in a difficult political and economic crisis, and has asked the Organization of American States for intervention. The government was unable to convince Parliament to raise public transit fares despite soaring energy prices. The G8, which holds its annual summit next month, includes the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and The Russian Federation. --SP 2348 Local Time 2048 GMT
