Reuters: G20 countries agree debt freeze for world's poor countries

[Maddox]

Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies agreed on Wednesday to suspend debt service payments for the world's poorest countries through the end of the year, a move quickly matched by a group of hundreds of private creditors.


The actions to freeze both principal repayments and interest payments will free up more than $20 billion for the countries to spend on improving their health systems and fighting the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told reporters after a virtual meeting of G20 finance officials.

The poorest countries will be hardest hit by the pandemic because they have weak health systems and have seen a massive outflow of capital since the crisis began. Many have also been rocked by a sharp drop in commodity prices.

G20 countries agree debt freeze for world's poorest countries

Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies agreed on Wednesday to suspend debt service payments for the world's poorest countries through the end of the year, a move quickly matched by a group of hundreds of private creditors.

www.reuters.com