The US President, George W Bush, has said the United States and Britain are close to an agreement on a proposal that would eliminate billions of dollars of debt for developing nations.
Mr Bush was addressing a joint news conference at the White House with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
The debt relief plan will now be brought to the meeting of G7 finance ministers in London at the weekend.
If agreed, it will be put to the G8 summit of the world's seven richest nations and Russia in Gleneagles in Scotland next month.
Mr Bush also pledged to continue to keep Africa as the centrepiece of his administration's foreign policy.
The US also committed to over $500m worth of aid for famine relief in the Horn of Africa.
However, the US has so far failed to support a call for the summit to adopt a multi-billion dollar long-term aid plan for Africa wanted by Mr Blair's Africa Commission.
