JOHANNESBURG, Nov 27 (AFP) - South Africa is, with help from Nigeria and Algeria, drafting an economic rescue plan for Africa that will see countries on the continent join hands in a quest for foreign investment and development, President Thabo Mbeki has said. Tentatively titled the Millenium Africa Recovery Plan, it will also coordinate the push for debt relief and more foreign aid for Africa, Mbeki said in an interview with the Financial Times of London published Monday in the Johannesburg-based newspaper Business Day. Mbeki said the plan would be issued in draft form and presented to governments of developed countries within a month's time and hopefully launched next year. "It has to deal with these matters of debt trade, market access and attraction of capital into these African countries. "We are looking at all of these things to see if we can't elaborate a new programme for African development," he said. So far, the plan has won the support of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President Bill Clinton, who "is very keen to see this thing in place before he leaves office," Mbeki said. He added that Clinton wants to stay involved in trying to solve Africa's troubles even after his term ends early next year. "I discussed with him the matter of what happens after he has left the presidency and he is very keenly interested to remain engaged with this African challenge and will be," he said. Mbeki's officials have explained that he was trying to persuade the developed world to support an equivalent of the Marshall Plan -- which sought to rebuild the European economy after World War II -- for Africa. But the president emphasized that it hinges on African countries proving that they are committed to peace, democracy and stability and prepared to root out corruption. "It is really up to yourself as an African country to come on board by demonstrating seriousness and commitment." He said Africa could not expect the rest of the world to throw money at its problems without setting conditions. "You cannot say 'I'm going to export all of these billions of dollars and put them in a Swiss bank account and please, rest of the world, can you come in and rescue my country'." However, he implied, this time African leaders rather than international organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should be the ones imposing the conditions for foreign help. bur/ef/pbl/nb _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------