International Monetary Fund extends debt relief to 28 poor countries

The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that $ 774 million in contributions had been pledged so far, including contributions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, China, Mexico, the Philippines and Sweden. Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Malta.

The vast majority of the 28 recipient countries are from Africa, although Haiti, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Yemen are included.

In 2015, the FFACC provided assistance to the three countries affected by the Ebola virus (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone). Its predecessor, the Post-disaster Debt Relief Trust, made it possible to cancel Haiti’s total debt owed with the IMF after the devastating earthquake in 2010.

Resources for poor countries

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that $ 650 billion increase in reserves The International Monetary Fund will allow significant resources to be provided to the world’s poorest countries experiencing a pandemic emergency.

Yellen told the Chicago Council of Global Affairs that many advanced economies – which will receive the largest share of new resources from the US-led SDRs – have indicated their willingness to lend or donate money from those reserves to poor countries through IMF credit programs. .

The official also questioned that President Joe Biden’s government spending plans – including a $ 1.9 trillion financial aid plan and a $ 2 billion infrastructure proposal – were causing inflationary pressures because the real unemployment rate in the United States remains close to 9.% due to the pandemic. .

With information from Agence France-Presse and Reuters