The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) will delay this year the release of its External Sector Report because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2020) The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) will delay this year the release of its External Sector Report because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.
"Reigniting trade flows, which have brought tremendous benefits to the global economy over the past several decades, will be necessary for a strong and lasting recovery. The Fund will continue to support efforts to modernize the rules-based trading system through advocacy, policy advice and analyses," Georgieva said. "We will continue to provide a rigorous, evenhanded and multilaterally consistent assessment of external positions for the whole membership. Given the crisis, the 2020 External Sector Report will be delayed."
Georgieva stressed the IMF is set to help member states strengthen their policies to respond to the CIVID-19 pandemic and create conditions for economic recovery.
"Tackling the acute crisis requires multiple policy levers. Our ongoing work on the Integrated Policy Framework will help members, especially emerging market economies, navigate the complex interactions among monetary, exchange rate, macro-prudential, and capital flow management and other policies amid volatile global capital flows," Georgieva said. "We will also deepen our analysis of the implications of lower-for-longer interest rates."
Georgieva said the current crisis will add to the already-high public debt levels in a lot of nations, adding that the IMF is prepared to help member states resolve unsustainable debt situations.
"We will continue to enhance debt transparency and build capacity to manage debt by pursuing our multipronged approach, jointly with the World Bank," she said. "We will also examine recent challenges in sovereign debt resolution and complete our reviews of the debt sustainability framework for market access countries and the debt limits policy."
On Tuesday, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook that global economic growth is expected to slow down by more than 6 percent to reach -3.0 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier in April, Georgieva said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a world-wide recession and its effects will be worse than the financial crisis of 2008.
