Africa urges G8 to scrap debt, reform trade

African leaders urged a summit of rich nations opening in Britain on Wednesday to cancel debt owed by African governments, reform international trade and increase aid to fight poverty on the continent.

Heads of state of the African Union (AU), ending a two-day meeting in Libya, also pledged to step up efforts to end war and political instability and improve standards of governance to attract investment to the world's poorest continent.

"We request the developed countries and development partners to expedite the process of total debt cancellation for Africa by the year 2007," said a resolution issued on the eve of the summit of the Group of Eight countries in Scotland.

"We call on the international community to establish a fair and equitable trading system and to facilitate Africa's access to fair markets through ... the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers ... and trade distorting subsidies and domestic support, especially in agriculture."