YAOUNDE - The African Union's 53 finance ministers, meeting in Yaounde, called for debt cancellation from their creditors and increased aid packages.

Prime Minister of Cameroon Ephraim Inoni, seen here in July 2005, proposed the creation of a "specific mechanism" to alleviate debt in countries not currently covered by existing financial aid.[AFP]

"We reaffirm our desire to see the cancellation (of debt) extended to all African countries," the finance ministers said in a final declaration published at the end of their second conference.

In his opening speech on Thursday morning, Cameroonian Prime Minister

Ephraim Inoni proposed the creation of a "specific mechanism" to alleviate debt in countries not currently covered by existing financial aid.

Cameroon said in April it was at the "point of completing" its membership to the initiative for very poor indebted countries, which would effectively cut much of its debt.

Several other states, such as oil producers, have "intermediary revenues" and are therefore not admissible to the initiative.