The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Geogieva, has disclosed that the body’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) will provide immediate debt relief for low income countries hit by the coronavirus.
Large economies and emerging economies have been hit by the pandemic alike as global economic activities has dropped to its lowest in over two decades.
Geogieva said this on Thursday in a Spring Meeting “Curtain Raiser” speech, that the relief was for low income countries affected by the pandemic to channel their efforts to creating space for spending on urgent health needs rather than debt repayment.
She also said that the, “We are now working with donors to increase the CCRT to $1.4 billion to extend the duration of the debt relief.”
The Managing Director together with the World Bank called on other multilateral institutions to pause all debt services to bilateral creditors for the world’s poorest countries.
Georgieva added that the year 2020 would be exceptionally difficult, adding that if the economy reopens in the second half of the year, there would be partial recovery in 2021.
“There is no question that 2020 will be exceptionally difficult. If the pandemic fades in the second half of the year, thus allowing a gradual lifting of containment measures and reopening of the economy, our baseline assumption is for a partial recovery in 2021,” she said.
Nigeria’s external debt from multilateral and bilateral institutions is N9,022,421.64 trillion ($27,676.14 billion) as of December 31, 2019, according to Debt Mangament Office.
