Guyana has been included among 76 countries named by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to benefit from a suspension of debt payments as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The two financial institutions were keen to note that the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for IDA countries, home to a quarter of the world’s population and two-thirds of the world’s population living in extreme poverty. Therefore, with immediate effect—and consistent with national laws of the creditor countries—the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund made an official call on all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments for IDA countries that request forbearance.
The duo said that this will help with IDA countries’ immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak and allow time for an assessment of the crisis impact and financing needs for each country.
The World Bank and IMF added, “We invite G20 leaders to task the World Bank Group and the IMF to make these assessments, including identifying the countries with unsustainable debt situations, and to prepare a proposal for comprehensive action by official bilateral creditors to address both the financing and debt relief needs of IDA countries.” Further to this, the financial institutions said that they will seek endorsement for the Proposal at the Development Committee during the Spring Meetings slated to take place on April 16–17.
The World Bank Group and the IMF said they both hold the belief that it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries as well as a strong signal to financial markets.
