United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Wednesday, backed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for global debt relief initiative for developing countries amid COVID-19 crisis.
Stephane Dujarric – UN chief’s spokesman, stated, “The prime minister’s initiative is in the same spirit as the secretary-general’s own position.”
According to Mr Dujarric, said that UN Secretary General considers debt relief to be a significant aspect of global response to COVID-19 outbreak and must include waivers on interest payments.
“It’s important that the limited resources of the world’s poorest countries be used to combat the COVID-19 virus. The secretary-general has made this clear publicly and privately, including in his discussions with the G20,” he added.
Earlier, on April 14, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, had urged his British counterpart – Dominic Raab, to raise and discuss PM Imran Khan’s suggestion related to the debt obligations of the developing countries in upcoming G20 summit.
It is pertinent to keep in mind that Prime Minister Imran Khan, on April 12, had called on the United Nations and international financial institutions to consider extending debt relief for developing countries burdened with high foreign debts in order to free up funds to fight the virus, given the exceptional circumstances.
“There’s a huge discrepancy in the resources available to us in the developing world and the resources available to the developed world,” he explained.
Nations around the world, especially developing countries have been facing dire economic circumstances due to coronavirus outbreak which has severely affected their economies as governments had to impose country-wide lockdowns to curb the virus spread.
