Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a statement claiming that the Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
African countries are the largest recipient, numbering 20.
“This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.” Kristalina Georgieva said.
According to Georgieva, the CCRT can currently provide about US$500 million in grant-based debt service relief, including the recent US$185 million pledge by the U.K. and US$100 million provided by Japan as immediately available resources. Others, including China and the Netherlands, are also stepping forward with important contributions.
During her statement, Kristalina Georgieva urged other donors to help them replenish the Trust’s resources and boost further their ability to provide additional debt service relief for a full two years to their poorest member countries.