The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a fourth tranche of debt service relief from the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) for 24 member countries with eligible debt falling due in the period through January 10, 2022.
According to a statement issued on Friday, the IMF said that there remains a lack of clarity within the international community regarding the recognition of the government in Afghanistan.
As such, the Fund’s engagement with Afghanistan continues to be on pause. Therefore, approval of a fourth tranche of debt relief for Afghanistan was not proposed at this stage.
The Executive Board also approved the inclusion of the Kyrgyz Republic and Lesotho among the beneficiary countries, enabling these members to receive relief of their debt service falling due to the Fund through January 10, 2022.
The approval of the fourth tranche, totalling approximately SDR 87.9 million (US$124 million), follows three prior tranches approved on April 13, 2020, October 2, 2020, and April 1, 2021.
This debt service relief helps free up scarce financial resources for vital health, social, and economic support to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.—AFP
