Riyadh
The world’s 20 largest industrialised nations agreed on a new joint framework for restructuring government debt to help poorer countries further bolster their finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The development came following an extraordinary meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 countries. The framework, which is also agreed by the Paris Club group of mostly wealthy nations, will “facilitate timely and orderly debt treatment” for countries eligible for debt suspension from private sector creditors as well, the G20 said in a statement.
The group of 20 major economies, which is currently headed by Saudi Arabia under a rotating presidency, agreed to a time-bound suspension of debt repayments in April to help poor nations strengthen their healthcare infrastructure and deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic. More than 46 countries have benefitted from this initiative, the G20 said last month.
