Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has announced that International Monetary Fund (IMF) has accepted Pakistan’s request for debt relief amid coronavirus outbreak.
Talking to press, Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that this relief will be for a period of one year and will be applicable from the 1st of May.
The foreign minister credited Prime Minister Imran Khan for the development. “Prime Minister Imran Khan had appealed to IMF for debt relief for developing countries which was accepted by the Fund. IMF has announced it would give one-year relief to 70 developing nations including Pakistan,” he noted.
Prior to this, Foreign Minister, on April 14, had urged his British counterpart to raise the issue of debt relief in the upcoming G20 summit.
Earlier, Stephane Dujarric – UN chief’s spokesman announced that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres backs Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for debt relief and that the former considers debt relief to be a significant aspect of global response to COVID-19 outbreak and must include waivers on interest payments.
Additionally, on April 13, IMF Executive Board had approved an urgent debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is pertinent to mention that Prime Minister Imran Khan, on April 12, had called on United Nations and international lenders to formulate a debt relief plan for developing nations as COVID-19 outbreak has severely affected their financial resources and their ability to abide by loan payment schedules.
