PARIS, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Thursday called on the world's main donor countries to honor their pledges to aid the developing nations while wrestling with the global financial turmoil.

    "Unless we act decisively now, we may not be able to prevent the financial crisis from generating an aid crisis", said a letter issued by the OECD addressing the heads of the member countries of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

    OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria and the Chair of DAC, Eckhard Deutscher, in a joint letter urged these countries to sign an "Aid Pledge" to keep their commitments and avert budget cuts for development aid.

    "Let us not repeat the mistakes we made following the recession of the early 1990s when many OECD governments let aid efforts decline, with the consequent impacts on developing countries in such areas as agricultural production, infrastructure, social welfare and political stability," said the letter.

    Cuts in budgets for development aid will pile more pressure on developing economies over food and energy prices in the following years, said Gurria and Deutscher.

    Such a move will also constrain donor countries' ability to help developing nations adapt to climate change.

    "Action is essential to avoid a deepening poverty crisis, and we know that poor countries face heightened possibilities of conflict in times of economic and social stress," the letter warned.

    Other international organizations and countries have issued alike appeals as worries mount that the current financial crisis and looming recession will affect donor countries' aid for developing nations.