RIYADH Saudi Arabia hosts G20 finance ministers and central bankers for virtual talks Wednesday amid warnings of a deep coronavirus-triggered recession and growing calls for debt relief for poor countries including in Africa. The meeting comes a day after their counterparts from Group of Seven (G7) nations expressed support for a temporary halt to debt payments from the world’s poorest countries to help them weather the pandemic – if G20 governments agree. Ministers and bankers from 20 most advanced economies had pledged in their previous meeting last month to address the debt burden of low-income countries and deliver aid to emerging markets hit hard by the pandemic. G20 working groups are expected to outline details of the plan in the meeting on Wednesday. The virtual talks come after the IMF warned on Tuesday that the pandemic is pushing the global economy into its deepest recession in a century cutting world output by 3% this year, and that the crisis could get worse.–AFP
