Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman supported the call for the deployment of voluntary SDRs in poor countries.
The International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC), which directs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and sets its agenda, met in Washington DC on October 14 as part of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Those who constituted the committee, including finance minister and central banker, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were present. A release issued by the IMFC said that while the world economy is recovering from the pandemic, differences exist between different economies due to differences in vaccine availability and different levels of policy support.
The IMFC also welcomed the new SDR (Special Drawing Rights) allocation of the IMF’s reserve assets, of which $650 billion was created newly in 2021. IMFC also supported the creation of a trust – the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which was first announced in June. – To send some of this money to low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries that are hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms Sitharaman called on the IMF to provide necessary policy support to these countries for effective utilization of the recently allocated SDRs, the Finance Ministry tweeted. According to the finance ministry, the IMFC has supported voluntary channeling of SDRs from countries with strong positions – a position echoed by Ms Sitharaman, according to the finance ministry.
The minister expressed concern over the gap in access to vaccines between rich and poor countries. He also called for identifying the challenges facing developing countries with regard to climate finance and technology – the message he delivered to the G20 on 13 October.
The IMFC release – an agenda-setting document – said that accelerating universal immunization requires strong international cooperation and “urgent action” and that they (fund member countries) take steps to boost the supply of vaccines and essential medical products. Will pick up
The fund’s member states also said that they will continue to prioritize health spending to protect the most vulnerable, and when appropriate, shift their focus from crisis response to boosting growth and long-term fiscal stability, in the release. Having said. They also committed to “further accelerating climate action in line with the Paris Agreement” and building a more sustainable global economy. The document states that they will also collaborate to realize the potential of the digital economy.
The IMFC welcomed the statement of the IMF Board on the review of an independent investigation into the World Bank’s Doing Business 2018 report. An independent investigation found that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva (who was the CEO of the World Bank in 2018) pressured bank employees to improve their rankings with respect to China. However, the Board did not find sufficient grounds to remove him. Ms Georgieva, who had strong support from European countries, repeatedly defended herself during this week.
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