G20 finance ministers pledge immediate, exceptional measures to address Covid-19 crisis

Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central banks' governors vowed on Saturday to take immediate and exceptional measures to address COVID-19 crisis.

During a video meeting held on Saturday, they welcomed the progress of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), said a statement by the Saudi G20 Presidency.

In April, the World and the G20 finance ministers endorsed the DSSI to grant debt-service suspension to the poorest countries in order to help them manage the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since World War II. The main goal of the DSSI is to allow poor countries to concentrate their resources on fighting the pandemic and safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of millions of the most vulnerable people," the World Bank had said in a statement last month.

To date, 42 countries have requested to be benefited from the DSSI, amounting to an estimated USD 5.3 billion of 2020 debt service to be deferred.

To provide maximum support to DSSI-eligible countries, the G20 officials vowed to continue to closely coordinate in its implementation.

"We will consider a possible extension of the DSSI in the second half of 2020, taking into account the development of the COVID-19 pandemic situation," the officials said in the meeting.

The statement further highlighted that the G20 officials would continue to facilitate international trade and investment and to build the resilience of supply chains to support growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development.

The G20 countries have been holding frequent meetings to address various aspects of the global impacts of COVID-19 to promote collaboration to address them. (Xinhua/)

( With inputs from ANI )