The International Monetary Fung (IMF) says it has deployed $1 trillion in global liquidity and reserve since the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Since the COVID – 19 outbreak pandemic, we have deployed $1 trillion in global liquidity and reserves through our lending and the allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs),” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
The managing Director made the comment on Friday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire this week. “We have provided around $320 billion in financing to 96 countries. We have increased five-fold our interest-free financing to 56 low-income countries through our Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT). And we have worked with economically stronger members to channel a significant share of their SDRs to more vulnerable countries, generating around $100 billion in new financing through IMF Trusts such as the PRGT and RST,” she said.
“And yet the IMF’s lending capacity as a share of global external liabilities has diminished over the past few decades as financial markets have expanded. And the share of borrowed resources has gradually increased. To strengthen this core of the global safety net, we are thus calling on our member countries to bolster the IMF’s quota resources.”
“We are also encouraging our stronger members to step in with more financing for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, as well as our Resilience and Sustainability Trust, to ensure support for our vulnerable members.”
A strong and adequately resourced IMF also means an IMF that is more responsive to the needs of emerging and developing economies, according to the Managing Director. “We have already taken strong actions in response to recent shocks, but we will continue to further strengthen our toolkit, including for our precautionary facilities,” she said.
She also noted that the IMF, with its near-universal membership, plays a vital role in bringing countries together. “This means also expanding the voice of emerging and developing countries. I am looking forward to our members agreeing to a third African Chair at our Executive Board,” she said.
The IMF and the World Bank Group are set to have their annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco next week gathering participants from all corners of the world.
“In the fifty years since our last meetings in Africa, the world has transformed in so many ways—life expectancy is up, globally poverty has declined, the international monetary system has adapted to a flexible exchange-rate regime, and technology has transformed the way we work, entertain and communicate. But inequalities within and across countries have increased and we are facing an existential climate crisis. And growth has been on a declining path over the last decade,” she said commenting about the upcoming meetings.