WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2023) International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday welcomed Qatar's pledge for two IMF trusts designed to fight poverty and improve resilience.
"I welcome the very important pledge, announced by Qatar today, of 20% of its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) holdings toward the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST)," Georgieva said in a statement.
Two of the greatest challenges the world faces are how to generate the growth necessary to reduce poverty, and how to mitigate the impact of climate change, Georgieva said.
The contribution to the PRGT will allow the IMF to continue to provide zero-interest loans to the world's poorest countries and support them in implementing policies needed to stimulate growth and reduce poverty, she said.
Georgieva noted that the RST helps vulnerable countries with affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, including climate change mitigation and pandemic preparedness.
The IMF chief called on other countries to follow Qatar's lead and support the most vulnerable countries, particularly those in the middle East and Africa.
"Demand for the PRGT is at record levels. The IMF has responded to this rising demand and rapidly scaled up support. We increased our interest-free financing more than four-fold to $24 billion since the beginning of the pandemic," Georgieva said.
The IMF still has to fill the existing $1.2 billion gap in the PRGT, she added.
