World Bank & IMF urge bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from poorest nations

On Wednesday, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund issued a joint statement urging all the official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from the poorest countries amid the novel Coronavirus crisis. As per the statement, the COVID-19 outbreak would have severe consequences for the countries with low per capita income. In such a situation, suspending the debt payment could help improve the liquidity situation of these countries to tackle the challenges of the novel Coronavirus.  

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak Likely To Be Contained In Summer, May Reappear In Winter: Reports

Both the World Bank and the IMF called upon G20 leaders to allow them to assess the crisis impact and to prepare a proposal for comprehensive action by the official bilateral creditors. The endorsement for this proposal will be sought at the meetings of the Development Committee in April. The statement added that this would send a strong signal to the financial markets as well and sought the support of G20 on this issue.  

Read the joint statement here:

Read: Coronavirus: Maharashtra Readies 22,118 Rooms With 55,707 Isolation Beds Amid 126 Cases

The Coronavirus crisis

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected 196 countries in the world. Presently, there are 4,32,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of almost 20,000 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to deal to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, Italy, the US, and Spain have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus. So far, the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in India is 606. 

Read: Rly Divisions Gearing To Produce Hand Sanitisers For Its Staff For Use During Coronavirus Outbreak

Read: 'Take Pledge To Take Care Of 9 Poor Families During 21-day Coronavirus Lockdown': PM Modi