The Group of 20 nations in the world with the largest economies in the world came to an agreement to pardon poor countries on their accrued debts. This is in regard to proposed measures to help cushion the underdeveloped and partly developing countries from the corona pandemic. A six-month relief to be precise has been made available to 46 out of the 73 states in debt with the group. A total of $14 billion debt would have been realized as a result of the pandemic at the end of the year. The virtual meeting held on Wednesday mandated the countries in debt up to June 2021 to continue paying their dues to the G20.
G20 Dept Extension Agreements
As much as the group is putting in regulations to ease up the economic tensions brought by the pandemic, not everyone is on the same page. A good number of international aid groups are in agreement. This will go up to a one-year extension on debt financing was not the best measure to employ. The burden of the debt has only been suspended not cleared.
Aid groups like Amnesty International, Transparency International. And CIVICUS group had earlier written to the G-20 group towards granting debt relief. The groups explained how some of the countries in debt had been really affected by the pandemic. Hence rendering them economically and financially unstable. For this reason, any measures to lessen their strain through a debt relief would really come in handy for the poor countries. Some countries like Pakistan wish the debt could even be canceled.
The Unforeseen Contingencies
With the debt payment extension already in play till next year, most of these countries are not aware of what lies ahead. According to an official managing debt policy from Oxfam International, Jaime Atienza, the delay will only steer them into a worse economic depression. This will leave most of these poor countries in an unbearable state of providing social safety nets and even making health investments. Nonetheless, Oxfam with other groups is still advocating for a suspension in debt payment for the poor countries from private lenders and investment funds as well.
China Remains Adamant about Debt Relief Plea
Although most countries have taken up the bid on debt relief, china still hasn’t fully borrowed the idea. In fact, china went ahead to reject some of these rules. The country is a major creditor to many poor countries. As of now, its economic and geopolitical interests seem to be more important than the debt relief.
G20 chair, Mohammed Al-Jaadan affirmed the importance of being empathetic during this distressful times. Supporting the underdeveloped countries in curbing the pandemic and reviving their economic states is at most called for. The debt service suspension should not only be enacted by the G20 but also private creditors were urged to join in. The group is also looking forward to ways in which they can expand on the number of countries under the debt relief plan.
More:
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- The Top Ten African Countries with The Most Chinese Debt
