Bilateral credits pledged to Poland and Hungary amount to nearly $1.5billion.

It was largely funded by multilateral and bilateral credit financing provided by Western governments.

"In Africa, it is very much a question of government and bilateral credits, not bank debt," Mr. Cline said.

External financing-mostly bilateral credit from the United States-rose dramatically until it reached 87 percent of the public deficit in 1985, rising even further in subsequent years.

The Solidarity leader, Lech Walesa, who is to visit Washington in November, has called for $10 billion of emergency assistance, involving $2.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund, $3 billion from the World Bank and $4.3 billion in new bilateral credits.