Foreign donors have pledged $200 million to help the impoverished Indian Ocean Comoros Islands on the path to stability before elections next year, South African President Thabo Mbeki said late on Thursday. Desperate to break the cycle of coups and inter-island strife that has crippled the chain of islands for three decades, the Comoros had appealed for $250 million to fund its three-year development and poverty reduction plan. "I am satisfied, as I think the pledges made have been very good," Mbeki told journalists after co-chairing a meeting of international donors with Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam. Mbeki said he was confident that political instability in Comoros was in the past. The meeting brought together 200 delegates including representatives from the European Union (EU), the United Nations, the Arab League, the African Union (AU) and Bretton Woods institutions. France has pledged the lion's share of the funding, donating $77 million. The EU pledged $40 million, the World Bank $10 million, and other countries including Mauritius, South Africa, India and China offering around $1 million each, Reuters reported. --SP 1524 Local Time 1224 GMT
