United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an increase in funding for the International Monetary Fund to enable it to address the needs of countries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Guterres told a high-level online event that IMF members should agree to a new allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights.
The UN chief said a Group of 20 debt moratorium on official debt payments by the poorest countries should be extended beyond year-end, and expanded to include all developing countries and emerging markets in need. Mr Guterres said that there will be no global recovery unless the virus is stopped in its tracks.
The crisis has snatched lives and livelihoods and taken an unprecedented toll on economies, particularly in the countries and communities least able to cope. And so far, we have not yet seen enough solidarity to assist with the massive and urgent support those countries and communities need. The international community should also increase the resources available to the International Monetary Fund, including through a new allocation of special drawing rights and the voluntary reallocation of existing special drawing rights. This is exactly the kind of crisis for which the IMF was created to put the teetering economies back on their feet. We will not see a global recovery until we have stopped the virus in its tracks.
Also in this feature, know about Disney laying off 28,000 employees due to the pandemic, and Liverpool Football Club's Alcantara tests positive for Covid-19.
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