Help vulnerable countries, IMF tells developed economies

HAINAN, China – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged developed economies to keep helping vulnerable nations, particularly those in “debt stress” due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Cooperation goes hand in hand with solidarity with those in greatest need. Over the past three years, low-income and vulnerable countries and people have been hit especially hard,” IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said in her remarks at the 2023 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Hainan, China on March 30.

She said 2023 is expected to be another difficult year with global growth falling under 3 percent because of the war in Ukraine and “monetary tightening.”

“The global economy has been in choppy waters for quite some time, experiencing shock after shock after shock,” she said.

Georgieva said this year’s Baoa Forum offers an answer through cooperation and solidary which she described as “twin beacons of light we can rely on to guide us through the challenges that lay ahead.”

“Cooperation has already transformed the global economy by deepening trade integration — which has boosted incomes and living standards across the world,” she said.

She added that trade integration has been a key ingredient of strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Asia for many years.

Georgieva said faster and more efficient global mechanisms are urgently needed to provide debt treatments to those severely hit by economic shocks.

“After all, establishing such mechanisms would provide significant benefits to debtors and creditors alike,” she said.

She said China’s engagement in the Common Framework and participation in the new Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable is very much welcome.

“Solidarity must also extend to the future generations — and nowhere it matters more that in climate action, especially in Asia with its high population density and exposure to climate shocks,” she said.

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