Mali will receive 675 million dollars in debt relief under an IMF-World Bank program to help heavily indebted poor countries, the two organizations said at the wekend.

The landlocked West African country became the seventh nation to reach to "completion point" under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, according to an IMF-World Bank statement.

The others having reached this point are Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda.

The program, which aims to establish improved economic policies, will reduce Mali's overall debt by about 37 percent, the statement said.

It will help bring debt service payments as a percentage of exports from 12 percent in 1999 to an annual average of 5.5 percent over the next decade.

"Now that Mali has succeeded in achieving a stable macroeconomic environment, HIPC debt relief will contribute to sustained growth in the country," said Cyrille Briancon, IMF mission chief for Mali.

"The reform process in Mali is beginning to have a significant impact in cutting poverty," said David Craig, World Bank country director for Mali.

"This debt relief package, combined with the broader reforms being carried out by the government, contributes towards Mali's sustained growth and poverty reduction in the future." To date, 26 countries -- or two thirds of the countries qualifying for HIPC debt relief -- have reached their "decision points" and are benefiting from at least some debt relief under the initiative, the statement said.

The program which aims to ease the crushing debt burden of poor countries, aims to cut debt for these countries by about two-thirds, when combined with bilateral aid and relief - Sapa-AFP