Hopes fade of debt deal at World Bank meetings

Gordon Brown will break off from election campaigning today to fly to Washington amid signs that this weekend's key meeting of finance ministers is unlikely to herald a pre-election breakthrough deal on tackling global poverty.

Gordon Brown will break off from election campaigning today to fly to Washington amid signs that this weekend's key meeting of finance ministers is unlikely to herald a pre-election breakthrough deal on tackling global poverty.

The Chancellor's decision to spend just 24 hours in the US capital came as the head of the World Bank warned there would no announcements on extra aid or debt relief until July at the earliest. The Treasury said Mr Brown was determined to "keep up the momentum" on his development agenda. At a meeting of G7 finance ministers in London in February, Mr Brown raised hopes of a deal on debt relief at this weekend's meetings, saying London would go down in history as the "100 per cent debt relief summit".

But yesterday Treasury sources moved to play down hopes of an announcement this weekend, saying that issue was for the next G7 meeting in June rather than this weekend's meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

"There are a number of key issues which we hope to address over the next two days, particularly keeping up the momentum on the development agenda ahead of the Gleneagles [in July]," one source said.

Charity groups lobbying on the fringes of the meeting said the fact that the Chancellor was spending so little time at the IMF - even though he chairs its key management committee - was a sign that no progress would be made. It also emerged yesterday that Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, will not be travelling to Washington.

Charities none the less kept up the pressure on ministers to make some progress. Bernice Romero, the advocacy director for Oxfam International, said: "G7 finance ministers must not leave these meetings without a firm agreement on cancelling debt." In his last World Bank board meeting before he steps down in six weeks' time, Mr Wolfensohn said he did not expect any concrete decisions to be made this weekend. "In my personal view we are likely to see it emerge over the coming few months and the heads of state will make the announcement but there will be signals at these meetings," he said.

"There will be overtures and we shall see some themes but the arias are likely to be sung by the stars at a different time." He said it was more likely a decision would be announced at the Gleneagles summit or at the United Nations conference in New York in September.

Wolfensohn's ups and downs

HIGH POINTS

* Drawing up the plan to write off $24bn of debt owed by the world's poorest countries.

* Reaching out to the pressure groups who have been critical of its bureaucracy.

* He has also managed to negotiate the treacherous waters of the world financial crisis, while helping to launch the debt initiative to help the world's poorest countries.

LOW POINTS

* Seeing an effigy of himself being burnt by anti-globalisation protestors and having a cream pie shoved in his face.

* Failing to get support for a nomination by President George Bush for an unprecedented third five-year term as president of the bank.