There is no doubt that Malawi needs 100 percent debt cancellation as soon as possible, and I will do everything possible to speed that up.

We, being the Western world, wouldn't let Russia off the hook on debt. So there were demands on debt servicing in the early days until they ran out of reserves. There was no real aid program, just a fictional aid program.

The essential truth for developing countries is, if you try to live by yourself, you will cut yourself off from the amazing progress of world technology. You won't be able to purchase the goods that you need from abroad, because you're not exporting to the rest of the world. You have to be part of the world system.

There's a lot of strength in the U.S., but there's a lot of froth also. The froth will blow off. We're going to have to face up to some realities that we're not fully facing up to right now.

The idea that the UN system could provide real leadership on the great development challenges will strain credulity in some quarters.

In general reducing the public debt will require drastic public sector reform. To implement drastic reforms, Koizumi needs to gain public support.