G20 suspends debt payments for poor nations till 2020 end

New Delhi: G20 finance ministers have endorsed a plan to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, including the suspension of debt service payments for the world’s poorest countries till end of 2020.

The ministers also decided to support small and medium enterprises, hit hard by the crisis, and individuals whose income levels have been negatively affected. “We support a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance,” the G20 said in a statement on Thursday after an online meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors aday earlier.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who attended the meeting, pitched for global cooperation and spoke of the measures taken by the Indian government including the relief package for the most affected sections and liquidity measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India.

The plan calls for all bilateral official creditors to participate in the initiative, consistent with their national laws and internal procedures. The grouping asked private creditors and multilateral development banks to participate on comparable terms. India is the co-chair of the framework group that drew up key components of the plan.

The finance ministers backed adoption and swift implementation of a strong financial response –amounting to $200 billion – to help countries in need and to uphold global financial stability and debt vulnerabilities in low-income countries due to the pandemic.

“We commit to providing substantial support to businesses, especially small medium sized enterprises, and households most affected by this crisis, to minimise the pain of the temporary shock and ensure that disruption does not cause longterm damage to the global economy,” the action plan said.