BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations have agreed to a Paris Club debtmoratorium, offering a freeze on debt repayments for Asia's tsunami-hit countries.

    The G7 countries, which are all among the 19 permanent Paris Club members, agreed on Friday to present the moratorium to a meeting of the Paris Club countries on Wednesday in Paris, said French Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Herve Gaymard onSunday.

    A freeze on debt repayments, which would primarily benefit the worst-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia, would help the Asian countries put more resources for relief and reconstruction, Gaymard said.

    The Paris Club would consider a debt concellation or restructuring as the second step following the moratorium, said sources close to the club.

    Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union (EU), expressed his support to further debt reduction and more direct aid to the countries hit by the tsunamis.

    He said the European Investment Bank would put in place a facility of 1 billion euros (about 1.3 billion US dollars).

    European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel on Sunday called all European countries to contributeat least 0.7 percent of their national income for Asian tsunami-hit countries.

    "The best idea is first to reach the point that all European countries donate at least 0.7 percent of their GDP" as tsunami aid,said Louis Michel, a former Belgian foreign minister.

    Also on Sunday, French Education Minister Francois Fillon made a nationwide appeal to schools to aid Asian children devastated bythe tsunami and help them return to classes.

    "I am launching a solemn public appeal to send funds to help the children (in Asia): 1.5 million children displaced, 50,000 orphaned, 40 schools destroyed," Fillon said on local TV.

    He added the health and education ministries would begin a campaign in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Red Cross that would help build reception centers to house isolated children.

    A charity gala was held in Beijing on Sunday night as part of China's largest ever aid package to the tsunami-stricken countries.

    More than 160,000 audience sang and applauded while over 30 popstars performed at the show, which is sponsored by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and the press in Beijing.

    It was designed to call on the public to do what they can to help the South and Southeast Asian countries and people that suffered from the tsunami disaster. All the money collected at theshow will be transferred to tsunami-hit regions through the RCSC.

    Oil-rich Kuwait said Sunday it was raising its aid pledge for Asia's tsunami victims to 100 million US dollars.

    "In light of the tragic catastrophe and reflecting the feelingsof Kuwaitis towards the victims in those countries ... the cabinetdecided to increase the donation of the State of Kuwait so the total value of aid will be 100 million dollars," said a statement issued after a cabinet meeting.

    Of the money, 30 million dollars will be paid in cash while thestate-owned Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development will carry out infrastructure projects worth 70 million dollars, it said.

    The Niger government said Sunday that it had pledged 250,000 dollars in aid to the United Nations to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

    "The government of Niger was deeply moved by these catastrophesand expresses its compassion to the governments and peoples of this region," a government statement said.

    The tsunami, triggered by a huge earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra last December, killed at least 155,000 people, with nearly 100,000 of them in Indonesia. More than half a millionpeople are believed to have been injured and up to 5 million are classified as lacking basic services. Enditem