The Group of Seven rich countries failed to come up with any new ideas on debt relief for poor countries at a meeting on Feb 17, 2001 drawing fire from campaigners who had hoped for progress. In a communique released after their meeting, G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs said the group had brought 22 of the world's poorest countries into the so-called Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative last year. They also said they would work to ensure those countries benefited fully