Ryad (AFP)

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the G20 countries hold a virtual meeting on Saturday on the recovery of the world economy, severely affected by coronavirus, amid calls for debt relief for poor countries.

These discussions between the 20 most industrialized countries in the world are taking place while the pandemic continues to strike almost everywhere, in particular among several members of this forum such as the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.

In this context, NGOs warn the G20, chaired this year by Saudi Arabia, against the threat of a debt crisis in the poorest countries.

Officials "will discuss the global economic outlook and coordinate collective action for a strong and lasting global economic recovery," organizers said in a statement.

Sign that the virus is still very threatening, the discussions, chaired by the Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan and the governor of the central bank, Ahmed al-Kholifey, will take place in a virtual way.

- "Imminent disaster" -

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy, despite some signs of recovery, faces headwinds, including the possibility of a second wave of the pandemic.

"We are not out of the woods yet," warned its managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, in a message to G20 finance ministers, stressing that the pandemic risks increasing poverty and inequalities.

Revising downward growth forecasts, the IMF announced in June that it expects global GDP to decline 4.9% this year due to a larger-than-expected contraction during containment periods .

The 11 trillion dollars (about 9.6 trillion euros) spent by the governments of the G20 countries in aid to households and businesses have made it possible to avoid a deterioration of the situation, but "these safety nets must be maintained (.. .), in some cases, extensive, "said Ms. Georgieva.

In April, the G20 countries announced a one-year moratorium on the debt of the poorest countries, a measure deemed insufficient by NGOs.

So far, 41 of the 73 poorest countries have applied to benefit from this initiative, which will save them up to $ 9 billion (around € 7.8 billion) this year, according to Oxfam organizations. , Christian Aid and Global Justice Now.

But the 73 countries still have to repay up to $ 33.7 billion (around € 29.4 billion) in debt by the end of 2020, according to a report they released on Thursday.

“G20 finance ministers have a mission to avert impending disaster for hundreds of millions of people,” said Chema Vera, acting executive director of Oxfam.

She called for making the G20 initiative "legally binding" until the end of 2022.

- "Solidarity Fund" -

Amnesty International called on the G20 to "cancel the debt of the poorest countries for at least the next two years".

"If we are to build resilience in the face of future crises, we must make long-term structural changes which will require courage," said Julie Verhaar, acting secretary general of the NGO.

French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire said Friday that France would ask during the G20 to extend the moratorium in 2021.

Argentine Foreign Minister Felipe Sola has told him that he will urge the G20 to create a global "solidarity fund" to fight poverty in countries affected by the virus.

"We want decisions on debt, not only for the poorest countries but also for the middle-income countries" impoverished by the pandemic, he declared in Buenos Aires.

But G20 members are struggling to support their economies, which have been badly affected by measures taken to contain the spread of the virus.

In June, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimated that these measures caused a record GDP drop of 3.4% in these countries in the first quarter of 2020, the largest drop since the agency began to collect data in 1998.

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