G20 nations are determined to continue doing everything possible to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, warning in a draft communique that the global economic recovery remains “uneven, highly uncertain, and subject to elevated downside risks”.
Bringing the pandemic under control is the key to supporting a global economic recovery, the G20 leaders said in the draft, excerpts of which were seen by Reuters.
A final joint statement will be released by leaders from the United States, China and other Group of 20 nations after they meet by video conference on Saturday.
In the draft, the leaders noted the coronavirus crisis had hit the most vulnerable in society hardest, and said some countries may need debt relief beyond a temporary moratorium on official debt payments now slated to end in June 2021.
G20 leaders said they would decide next spring whether to extend the freeze, the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, for another six months, and endorsed a common framework for debt restructuring hammered out with the Paris Club of official creditors.
