Germany has agreed to write off about 6,745,000 dollars owed to the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) before the German unification, which is due for payment.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, minister of finance who announced this, said Ghana was expected to formally apply for the debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. Mr Osafo-Maafo was briefing newsmen in Berlin after a government delegation led by President John Agyekum Kufuor had held talks with Mrs Heide Marie

Wieczorek-Zeul Federal Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development.

The delegation also met Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at the Federal Chancellery as part of President Kufuor's three-day official visit to Germany. Mr Osafo-Maafo said at both meetings, they reviewed bilateral relations between both countries and the need for Germany to assist Ghana to attract direct foreign investments.

He said at the meeting with Chancellor Schroeder, Germany agreed to finance the dual carriage way from Nsawam to Apedwa both in the Eastern region and on the main Accra-Kumasi trunk road. The minister of finance said the government would now work out the details and the assistance needed for the project.