G20 strikes debt pact to aid poorer nations hit by Covid-19

Washington, May 18 (Prensa Latina) G20 countries agreed to extend debt relief to the world's poorest countries during the remainder of 2021, according to a G20´s statement.

May 18, 2021
10:04

The decision follows the purpose of aiding low-income nations to fight the Covid-19 pandemic by extending the Debt Service Suspension Initiative through the end of this year.

‘This final extension will allow beneficiary countries to use more resources to challenge the crisis and, when appropriate, move to a more structural approach to deal with debt vulnerabilities,’ the statement said.

G20 representatives also asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) worth US$650 billion to cover the long-term global need for reserve assets, in order to increase liquidity and help to global recovery.

G20´s Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors also asked IMF to present proposals to increase transparency and accountability in the use of SDR, while preserving its reserve asset characteristic, the statement added.

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