Washington/Paris — Major international creditors will relieve the world's poorest countries of debt payments in 2020 to help them deal with the coronavirus pandemic that has sparked the steepest downturn in the global economy since the 1930s, France announced on Tuesday.
He spoke just before Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors met by video conference on Tuesday and threw their support behind temporary debt relief to the poorest countries, as long as it was backed by the G20 and the Paris Club. World Bank president David Malpass, in a tweet, thanked US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin for hosting the G7 meeting and backing his joint call with International Monetary Fund MD Kristalina Georgieva for the temporary debt standstill.
The forecast provided a sombre backdrop to the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, which normally draw 10,000 people to Washington but are being held by videoconference this week because of the pandemic.In their statement, G7 officials also called for more contributions to the IMF's Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust and its Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which support the poorest countries.