The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that an "
economic collapse in some countries
" is not excluded if the G20 does not urgently take relief measures for poor countries from the burden of debt that they have contracted. .
Read alsoThe external debt of developing countries is increasing
"
We could see an economic collapse in some countries unless the G20 creditors agree to accelerate debt restructuring and suspend debt service while the restructuring is being negotiated,
" said the director IMF General Kristalina Georgieva and Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the Fund's chief strategy officer, in a blog post Thursday.
The risk of over-indebtedness has doubled in 6 years
At the start of the pandemic, the rich G20 countries offered poor countries a moratorium on the payment of their debt service until the end of the year before extending it until the end of 2021. Along with this initiative suspension of debt service (DSSI), they had created, in November 2020, a "
common framework
" intended to restructure or even cancel the debt of countries that requested it.
But for now, private creditors, especially Chinese, are slowing down its implementation. "
It is essential that private sector creditors implement debt relief on comparable terms
," said officials of the institution in Washington. Despite the aid measures deployed since the start of the pandemic, "
about 60% of low-income countries are exposed to a high risk or are already in debt distress,
" they recall. In 2015, this number was less than 30%, they point out.
"
For many of these countries, the difficulties are mounting,
" add the officials, noting that the arrival of new variants may further disrupt economic activity.
“
The recent (variant) Omicron is a stark reminder that the pandemic will be with us for a while,
” they also write, urging “
multilateral action
”, “
now to tackle vaccine inequalities across the country. 'globally and also to support prompt and orderly debt settlement
'.