By Our Reporter
Abuja (Precise Post) – The G7 leading developed countries on Tuesday approved the suspension of debt payment owed to them by some of the world’s poorest countries but it was conditional on support from the wider G20.
The agreement covers money that is due to be paid to G20 governments up to the end of 2020.
The aim is to help countries deal with the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Jubilee Debt Campaign group has described the move as a first step, but called for much more.
The UK-based charity estimates that the delay will cover $12 billion (£9.6bn) of payments.
But it is only a delay and the campaign group understands that the payments will instead have to be made between 2022 and 2024, along with interest accrued in the meantime.
In all, 77 countries are due to benefit from the agreement.
The plan was provisionally agreed on Tuesday by the G7 leading developed countries, but it was conditional on support from the wider G20.
Some countries, notably China and Saudi Arabia, which are in the G20 but not the G7, are significant lenders to developing countries. The G7 wanted a contribution to the debt payment suspension from those nations.
The move reflects the widely shared view that low-income countries face an especially severe challenge in coping with both the health and economic consequences of the pandemic.
President Emmanuel Macron earlier yesterday called for a global moratorium on debt payments by African countries to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Macron told Radio France Internationale (RFI) that he hoped a virtual meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group of countries could agree the moratorium.
It should involve all major Western powers – China, Russia and the Gulf states, as well as multilateral lenders, Macron said.
The G20 has also called for private lenders to take similar steps for debts owed to them by the poorest countries. However, the G20 suggested this could be done on a voluntary basis.
