Milan (AFP)

Faced with the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the big money-makers of the G20 will endeavor Friday to tune their violins on the plans to revive a bloodless world economy and to limit the damage for the poor countries, left behind of the vaccine race.

Covid obliges, this first meeting under the Italian presidency of finance ministers and central bankers of the group of the 20 richest countries in the world will be held in a virtual format, as part of a videoconference which will begin at 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. GMT) .

In the presence of the new US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, this meeting should benefit from a somewhat peaceful climate, the United States having converted to multilateralism after four years of Donald Trump's reign.

"It is certain that with the new American administration it will be easier to reach an agreement" on increased aid to needy countries, "because Joe Biden's approach to international cooperation is much more open," said to AFP Lucia Tajoli, professor of international economics at the Polytechnic business school in Milan.

However, "fundraising will not be easy, given the economic crisis that is hitting many countries," she warns.

Washington on Thursday urged the G20 countries to launch a real global and coordinated vaccination campaign.

"Without access to vaccines, low-income countries in particular will suffer further tragic loss of life and needlessly delay their economic recovery," Janet Yellen wrote in a letter to her G20 counterparts.

- New study aid -

Janet Yellen has also shown herself ready to discuss a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support countries in difficulty, again taking the opposite view of the Trump administration.

Several G20 countries, including France, are pleading in favor of a new use of this financing instrument which had already proved its worth during the financial crisis of 2009. The amount could reach 500 billion dollars.

A moratorium on the payment of interest on the debt of the poorest countries was decided by the G20 last April and extended in October until June 30, 2021.

In November, a new step was taken with the adoption by the G20 finance ministers of a "common framework" to reduce the debt burden.

Since then, Chad, Zambia and Ethiopia have already requested a restructuring of their debts.

"The issue of debt relief, which had remained under the carpet, is now on the agenda and we can certainly expect a step forward," Federico Niglia, professor, told AFP. of international relations at Luiss University in Rome.

To date, only 46 countries - out of the 73 eligible - have had their interest payment deferred, for an amount of $ 5.7 billion.

- "Uncontrolled recovery" -

A drop in the bucket compared to the nearly 14,000 billion dollars spent by the G20 countries to revive their economies devastated by the pandemic.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday called on the G20 to act against the "dangerous divergence" in the recovery between the most advanced and poorest countries that do not have access to vaccines.

The IMF has certainly forecast a rebound in global GDP of 5.5% this year and 4.2% in 2022 in January, but "the rise will be long and uncertain", according to Georgieva.

Another subject on the G20 agenda is the international financial sector.

While the financial markets have generally resisted the health crisis well, borrowing rates have risen sharply since early February.

In particular, the 1.900 billion dollars that Joe Biden wants to inject into the American economy.

Investors now fear that "an uncontrolled recovery of the world economy after the pandemic will cause a surge in inflation", according to Federico Niglia.

© 2021 AFP