Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said India’s G20 presidency received great support from all member countries and that the nations have agreed on language to deal with the debt vulnerabilities of developing countries.
After the meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG), the FM addressed the media and informed about the outcomes of the deliberations. She said the ministers recognised the urgency to address debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries.
Sitharaman said one of the successes under the first FMCBG meeting of the G20 India Presidency was to “arrive at a common position on debt language”.
“Strengthening multilateral coordination by official bilateral and private creditors is needed to address the deteriorating debt situation and facilitate coordinated debt treatment for debt-distressed countries,” the outcome document said.
“It is important for us to emphasise on that because the vulnerable countries are looking up to the G20 countries to find some solutions to arrive at a position where their debt stress can be relieved and many of them have been waiting for a very long time.
“So if we could arrive after so much negotiation at a common position for a language on dealing with debt, I think the G20 is now standing up to meet the challenges of debt stress which many countries are facing,” Sitharaman said.
This development reflects the responsiveness of G-20, the minister said, adding 4 countries — Ghana, Sri Lanka, Zambia, and Ethiopia — will benefit from the quick response of international institutions.
“There was also a consensus on stepping up the implementation of common framework,” Sitharaman said.
